CrossWorlds Part One The Beginning
by Xiaahandrus
Summary: Naruto characters living in my house, a high school girl war, and then I get sent to the past Naruto world... What else can go wrong?
1. A Not So Typical Tuesday

**I've seen several stories similar to this where Naruto characters appear in our world or us in theirs and I like them enough I decided to write my own. ^_^**

**CrossWorlds ~ One ~ A Not So Typical Tuesday**

_*Beep-beep-beep*_

I gave a low, drawn out groan as my alarm clock began its morning routine of rudely awakening me. I heaved a sigh and sat up while muttering under my breath, "Stupid, no-good, ungrateful, hateful thing…"

_*Beep-beep-bee*_

I cut it off in mid beep as I yawned and sat up. At least it wasn't Monday, but Tuesdays are just as bad. I still had to get up early and go to my lovely high school, but the good thing about this particular Tuesday was that for some strange reason unknown to me it was a seven period short day.

It was also bad due to the fact that my teachers either tried to cram a lesson and assignment into a twenty minute class period or the whole class sat and did nothing. The whole thing was enough to make me drop to the floor and foam at the mouth.

I pulled on yesterday's jeans, flip flops, and a random t-shirt from my closest that turned out to be last year's spring fling tee. I rocked back on my heels and after a moment of thought decided I didn't care what I looked like and simply pulled a brush through my hair and pulled it up into a high pony tail with the ends tucking into the last loop so it looked more like a strange bun.

Grabbing purse with required contents and backpack with the other essentials. I made my way to the other end of the small house I shared with my parents and dog to eat breakfast. A bowl of cold cereal was sufficient then out the door I went.

Mom and dad were both off on business trips so I had our little country house to myself. Locking the door I made my way to my car and headed off to my glorious high school. Take note, that was heavy sarcasm on the _glorious_ part.

The twenty minute drive to school was uneventful as usual. I pulled into my assigned parking spot that I can brag happens to be one of the best in the school. Cheered by that thought and the fact that I had ticked off a great many people from grade school by getting it made me all the happier.

I grabbed my things, locked the car, pocketed the keys, and off to class I went. I hummed softly as I met up with my small group of friends at the usual place under a big old oak tree just outside B building. We met there unless it was raining or it got to cold. Since it was spring cold wasn't a problem after first thing and since it wasn't bad we all toughed it out.

"_Aaaaliiiii!!"_ A perky, happy voice squealed out right before a very solid weight crashed into my right side and wrapped skinny arms around me. I chuckled and freed one arm to return the hug.

"Good morning Kitty-girl" I replied with a grin as I surveyed the shorter girl with mock exasperation, yet maintaining a grin. Audrey was cute with her dimples, pixie cut blonde hair, and dreamy hazel eyes. She was even pretty, but her happy-go-lucky attitude and obsession with fairies meant she wasn't prep material. My little group treasured her.

"Meow" She answered with the trademark that gave her the nickname 'Kitty-girl.' She suddenly released me whirled to shove her latest drawing of Gaara into my face, "Look! He's so _cute_!!"

She went on with squeals of glee. Next came a picture of the infamous Itachi Uchiha as Audrey swooned in place. I laughed all the while as I dumped my bag and purse on the bench with our other friend's stuff.

"I'm jealous Audrey. You're going to have to loan me your books again so _I _can learn to draw Naruto too" Our other friends rolled their eyes, used to these exchanges. Out of the six of seven regulars that gathered under our tree only Audrey and myself were real Naruto fans.

Audrey only watched the anime while I read the manga on the internet so I was way, way ahead of her and had to be careful about spoilers. I didn't like the anime since they had gone off with a bunch of random stuff before the time skip that I found pointless.

"Will do Ali!" Audrey replied with a thumbs up as the ten minute bell rang. I grinned and picked my stuff back up as I waved a goodbye. Most of them wouldn't leave until the five minute bell but I needed to stop by my locker first.

Dialing in the combo I opened the door and assessed what I'd need. Most of my teacher's wouldn't have us do anything since it was a half day.

_Biology, History, and… Oh shit. Here they come. _They were the school's jocks and cheerleaders that formed the prep posse headed by the Queen Bitch of the school herself, Brittany. I went to grade school with her and we'd been best friends at one time, but now… Hehe, now we were sworn enemies.

"Ali" Brit said in her sickly sweet voice as if we were still friends, "I have a History paper on the Great Depression due Friday. Could you do it for me please?" At least she didn't dance around wasting time.

I smiled and leaned against the neighboring locker as I pretended to think about it, "Hmm… Yeaaaaa- No. I have my own to write. So no."

I watched her pretty face turn ugly as soon as the words left my mouth and her group began to close ranks around me. I kept my posture casual, they couldn't do anything to me here, but it wasn't like I was afraid of them any way.

Brittany shoved her face into mine, a scowl marring her pretty features, "Listen here bitch, I need that paper wrote and you _will _do it for me" She smiled then, "I'll see you Friday."

Then with a flip of her oh so perfect blonde hair she turned and fallowed by her Prep Posse walked off to class. I waited until they were out of sight before sliding to the floor in a fit of giggles. Did so not _know _how utterly ridiculous she sounded?

With a final snort of amusement I picked myself up and headed to class. The half day passed in a blur as nothing else that caught my interest really took place.

I loaded myself and my stuff into my car at eleven thirty when class got out and headed for home as my stomach started growling. Parking at home I got out and stretched. Smiling like a dork up at the sky just for the heck of it.

This would be a perfect day to stretch out out in the sun and read. Grinning to myself I dumped my stuff in my room and grabbed up another bag and stuffed sketch pad, pencils, a notebook, my two favorite issues of Naruto(26 and 27), a swiftly made turkey sandwhich, iPod, laptop, and with a quilt tucked under my arm out the door I went.

I hummed off key to myself as I made my way down my usual trail towards the Wreck. Ducking through some overgrown honey suckle I found myself at my favorite place in the whole world: The Wreck.

The Wreck was actually an ancient R.V. that had been parked back here when there had actually been a road back here. Now the whole place was over grown and the Wreck was nearly hidden by the honey suckle. I'd cleared a clearing in the honey suckle so I could actually get into the R.V. if I wanted to, which I usually didn't.

My destination was the roof. Climbing up the back of the Wreck I spread the quilt out on the shady roof and stretched myself out with a sigh. Fishing my sketchpad and pencils out of my bag I began doodling a simple image of a fox while munching on my turkey sandwich.

That simple turned to complicated as I got it in my head to turn it into the Nine Tailed Fox. I was completely absorbed in my drawing when a crashing in the brush not far off made me look up with irritation. Closing my sketchpad I sat up and glared in the general direction of the crash while listening for more.

I could hear voices, but I couldn't make out what they were saying. I frowned, this was my family's property. There wasn't supposed to be any one back here.

Climbing silently down from the Wreck I started sneaking silently towards the sound of the voices. There is a lot of honey suckle and it grows really, really thick back in our woods so it wasn't to hard to sneak up on my unexpected visitors.

"Where the fucking hell are we?!"

"How should I know? What are you two doing here anyway?"

"Don't know, we were just walking along when suddenly there was this weird ripping sound things started spinning, then _whoosh_ and we're here with you three."

"Keep it down. We don't want to give our position away."

I blinked, _Wow. There are a lot of people sneaking onto my property._

Easing my way up I peaked around the edge of the honey suckle and blinked in surprise at the four figures in a rough circle at the base of the bluff below me. Black cloaks decorated with silver edged red clouds.

_Oh. My. God. There are freaking _cosplayers _on my property. _I gave a mental groan as I watched people pretending to be Itachi, Kisame, Hidan, and Kakuzu pretend to argue. I stifled a giggle with my fist.

"**To late for that.** We seem to have been found out" What sounded like two voices said above my head. I looked up at a black and white man with a giant Venus flytrap around him looking down at me from partway inside a tree. I felt my jaw drop in shock as I blinked a couple times.

"Um… Hi?" I tried experimentally as I stepped backwards, promptly tripped on a tree root and landed flat on my backside. Zetsu seemed equally surprised by my reply as he stepped from his tree. An eye blink later and I found myself surrounded by the other four _Akatsuki_ members.

"**So girl, **perhaps you can tell us where we are?" Zetsu asked. I stood up and brushed my jeans off, I'd left my flip flops back at the Wreck so I was bare footed.

"S-sure" I answered, "I think there's an old map back in the Wreck" I motioned for them to fallow as I walked back towards the Wreck.

"What the fuck is _that_?" Hidan asked as soon as we got in sight of the Wreck. I glanced at him and instantly took offense at him staring at my secret hiding place as if it had the plague.

"An R.V… You guys aren't from around here are you?" I asked as my brain refused to accept what my gut was telling it.

"That depends on what your map says little girl" Kisame answered. I glanced up, _way up_ at his face but I couldn't read his expression behind the collar of his cloak.

"It's Ali" I said almost absent minded as I opened the door to the Wreck. It protested mightily but it came. I motioned for them to come in as I walked towards the front and began digging around in the glove compartment.

I finally found a map of the United States and kneeling on the floor I spread it out on the floor. I glanced up at them, but of course I couldn't read any of their faces. I sighed, "None of this looks familiar does it?"

A long pause before Itachi answered, "…No."

I gulped and looked at Kakuzu knowing my face was suddenly blank, "Can I see you hand?"

"Why?" Kakuzu asked with suspicion and narrowed eyes.

"Please. It's important" I replied knowing I was probably noticeable pale by now.

Kakuzu didn't say anything else, but wordlessly held out his hand, palm up. Shakily I stepped forward and took his hand in both of my and pushed back the cloak sleeve. I traced the stitches on his arm with fingers that shook. No amount of makeup could fake that.

"They're real…" I whispered. As if to prove it threads sudden whipped out to hold me in place.

**So what do my lovely readers think? After looking at some of my other stuff I have noticed that I have a love of cliffhangers. ******** Reviews are much loved!! The next chapter will be up in about a week!!**


	2. Tacos and Ice Cream

***giggles* It's only chapter two and our main character is already neck deep in trouble… Just imagine what I'm going to do to her throughout the course of the story… XD**

**A big thank you to my first rate by Mika and Sukira!!! Thank you two!!**

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**Crossworlds ~ Two ~ Tacos and Ice Cream**

_Shit. Shit. Shit. Oh shit I am _so _dead!! _I was in full blown panic down as five pairs of suspicious eyes glared angrily at me. What the hell had I been thinking!?

"How do you know about us?" Kakuzu asked in a soft voice that I knew was dangerous.

I gulped, "You don't know where you are right? That's because you're in another world and here your world is a… manga. I happen to read it so I know about you."

"What is a manga?" Kakuzu asked as his eyes narrowed and the threads tightened almost painfully.

"C-comic book" I breathed out, "A s-st-story" They didn't look convinced so I plowed on ahead, "I can sh-show you…"

Kakuzu looked at the others, probably for confirmation. I didn't hear them say anything, but Kakuzu's threads released me. I stumbled slightly before steadying myself, I then turned and wordlessly marched out the door and around the back of the Wreck and climbed up.

Snagging my backpack I pulled it to me and fumbled around inside for the two manga. Swallowing I pulled out volumes twenty six and twenty seven then held them out. Itachi took the one with Sasuke on the cover while Kisame took the one with Naruto on it.

The both flipped through with Hidan, Kakuzu, and Zetsu looking over their shoulders. I waited silently until they seemed to be almost done, "Those two are where the Akatsuki make their first appearance besides when Itachi and Kisame make their appearance in Konoha. The next issues take place after a three year time skip when Deidara and Sasori go to Suna to get Shukaku."

They turned to look at me again and I offered a shrug with a sheepish smile, "I don't have those, I borrowed them from friends."

That was only a half truth, I read most everything online but I couldn't let them know that. Hell, I don't think they even _had _internet in their world. I knew they had computers from what I'd seen in Orochimaru's lab, but more I didn't know.

"So how did we fucking end up here?" Hidan demanded. I sighed and shrugged.

"That I don't know" I answered, "What were you doing in your world last?"

They looked at each other, obviously decided what not to say. That suddenly irritated me and I actually growled at them and rolled my eyes, "Come _on. _I can't help if I don't know what was happening on your end of things or even if I _can _help."

Kisame actually laughed at my tone and offered a toothy grin, "You got guts kid. Itachi and I were on our way to retrieve the three tailed beast."

I nodded and looked at Kakuzu and Hidan and raised one eyebrow. Kakuzu's eyes narrowed a moment before he answered, "We were in the Fire Country after killing Asuma Sarutobi."

I tapped my chin thoughtfully and offered a small smile, "That means the time skip has already taken place and Sasori has already been killed which means Deidara's partner is now Tobi…"

I had to force myself not to look at Itachi. I knew who Tobi was under his mask and I knew Itachi knew too but I wasn't about to let the others know about that. I was fairly sure Zetsu knew too.

"So you know what point we were in our world. **How the hell does that help us now?" **Zetsu asked.

"I don't know" I answered frankly as I dropped back to the ground from the roof of the Wreck, "Luckily my parents are out of time so I have the house to myself so you guys can sleep there rather than out here. Come on."

I turned and motioned from them to fallow me as I began walking back towards my house. I turned back when I realized they weren't fallowing me. I frowned and planted a fist on my hip with one eyebrow raised, "What is it _now_?"

"How do we know we can trust you?" Itachi asked with slightly narrowed Sharingan red eyes. I sighed and closed my eyes as I tried to think of a reply and settled on a line from a book I'd read.

"You don't" I felt them stiffen, "But how do I know I can trust _you_?" I countered, I opened my eyes and glared at them, "I'm taking a group of S-Class criminals who happen to _kill _people for a living to my house. I think I'm doing a lot of the trusting here. It would be nice if you returned the favor."

I got an all out laugh from Hidan, "Not bad for a little girl! Damn girl, you -"

"_Ali,_" I stressed, he looked blank, "My name is _Ali. _Not 'girl.' 'Kay?"

"Ali-san" Kisame said, I looked at him and nodded, he offered a wiry smile and rubbed the back of his head, "We don't need to introduce ourselves do we?"

I giggled and shook my head, "Not unless you want to. I know enough about you from reading that you that you don't have to be so formal."

Kisame looked startled for a moment before shrugging. I began walking up the path towards home humming softly under my breath as they fallowed. As we rounded the barn and came into the yard I felt them pause to look over my house.

I padded barefooted up the back steps and held the door open for them. They paused to remove their shoes before entering. I chuckled softly under my breath and fallowed. They looked around my house with interest as I shut the door.

"Is this normal?" Kakuzu asked, waving a hand to indicate my house.

"Mmm," I answered as I thought about it before shrugging, "Mostly. Both of my parents were raised nearby so they wanted to live out here though they work in town. They're both away on business trips at the moment."

"So you're alone?" Itachi asked.

"Yeah, most of the time" I shrugged and leaned on the wall with my arms crossed, "We aren't close, haven't been since I was probably eight. My Gran and I were until she passed away two years ago…"

I looked away then. Granma's death still hurt, she had been killed in a car accident when she was struck by a drunk driver who had also been killed.

"How long until your parents get back?" Kakuzu asked. I frowned and tilted my head slightly as I thought then shrugged.

"Don't know. They're gone enough I mostly fend for myself" I replied as I glanced up at the clock.

_Five-thirty…_

"You guys hungry?" I asked, changing the subject as I began going over possible ideas on what I could fix them for supper. After fending for myself for so long and having Grandma teaching me before hand I had become a pretty good cook.

They looked startled by the change, even Itachi blinked. Kisame grinned at me though, "What's on the menu?"

I tapped my chin thoughtfully as I shifted my weight to one foot, "I'm thinking… Tacos."

"What the hell are tacos?" Hidan asked. I blinked giving him a WTF look.

"You've never had tacos?" I asked while rubbing a scar on the inside of my left arm as I often did whenever I was thinking.

All five shook their heads. I sighed, "Tacos it is then," I hesitated and looked at Zetsu, "Um. I don't know if tacos are… On your diet…"

Zetsu blinked then surprisingly, smiled offering a low chuckle, "Thank you for your concern. **We will try your tacos at least."**

I grinned at him and sauntered into the kitchen. I got the usual pots and pans for tacos out then walked back out. Snagging the remote off the couch I tossed it to Itachi who caught it one handed and gestured to the T.V., "Make yourselves at home and no fighting over the remote."

They blinked at me as I made my way to the basement and selected a package of deer meat from the freezer for taco meat. I heard the T.V. come on as I climbed the stairs and saw them watching NCIS on USA.

I stifled a laugh at Hidan and Kisame's obvious appreciation of the gory details of some poor navy officer's death. I leaned on the back of the couch to watch a moment before sighing and continued on to the kitchen with a frown of disappointment.

"What's wrong?" Zetsu asked as I entered the kitchen. I jumped then shook myself and jerked a thumb over my shoulder at the T.V., "Re-run."

Zetsu looked blank so I clarified, "That episode has been on before and I've seen it so I call it a rerun. It ends okay at least."

I put the meat on and began adding the usual seasonings. I cut up lettuce, tomatoes, graded some cheese and put them on the table with salad dressing and hot sauce. I stirred the meat, it was almost done. Zetsu had watched me the whole time so I glanced up at him and hesitated a moment before speaking, "Would you go ask the others what they would like to drink?"

Zetsu blinked at me before walking out of the kitchen. I heard him voice said question and their voices answering as I set six glasses on the counter and put ice in them. I stirred the meat again and deciding that it was done grabbed a hot pad and set it on that on the table.

Another trip and I had plates and soft and hard taco shells as Zetsu came back, "We will have sake. **Strongest stuff you got."**

"Uh…" I rubbed the side of my neck, "No sake. Would water work?"

Zetsu sighed and nodded disappointedly. I giggled and began pouring water in the glasses, "Besides, I'm not old enough to drink. You wouldn't want to start corrupting me or anything now would ya?"

Silence met my words and I glance over my shoulder to find the five of them regarding me stonily. I groaned and rubbed my forehead, "That was a _joke…_ Yeash… I'd hate to think what's going to happen when I say something serious…"

"Heh…" Kisame answered, "I would have guessed you were around twenty-five… Uh… How old are you Ali-chan?"

"Pft. Don't you know better than to ask a woman her age?" I demanded as Kisame blushed a dark purple. I pouted at him a moment before grinning, "I'll be eighteen in a month for your information."

I winked then and picked up two glasses and held them out to Kisame and Itachi. They took them, I gave Hidan and Zetsu theirs next fallowed by Kakuzu before grabbing my own and heading for the dinner table. My parents had bought one of those massive tables that seats almost a dozen people for family gatherings so space wasn't a problem.

I felt them watch me as I fixed my taco and copying me as I finished. I had a love of spicy food so when they grabbed for their water glasses I had to work to keep food from flying out my nose as I laughed.

"Fucking hell woman! This stuff is _hot_!!!" Hidan swore at me as I got my laughter under control. I sucked in a deep breath and found the rest of my dinner guests regarding me with irritated expressions.

"Sorry" I gave another snort of laughter, "I have a love of spicy foods. That stuff in the red jar is hot sauce after all."

There were growls around the table. I giggled again and went for the water pitcher to give refills. The rest of the meal was finished after more refills and some swearing on Hidan's part.

"Alright, to make up for the hot sauce I have…" I paused for dramatic effect, "Ice cream." And held up a gallon of vanilla to prove my point. Kisame and Hidan actually cheered.

I handed out bowls and spoons before dishing out the ice cream. The Akatsuki dug into their ice cream with appreciation. I giggled into my ice cream as I watched my dinner guests thoughtfully. As if they felt me watching them they all five paused to look at me.

I blushed and explained, "I'm eating ice cream with five _ninjas _as an apology for feeding them hot sauce. Ninja who happen to be S-Ranked criminals from a comic book that I will never look at the same way again. It's a bit ironic to me…"

They laughed at my assessment. By then we had all but cleaned out the ice cream so I loaded up the dish washer and started it up. I found them watching T.V. in the living room again, CSI this time, and smiled.

_They're so much more mellow than they appear in the manga. They're also pretty calm for a bunch of guys who just found out that they're in another world… Why I wonder... Eh. They'll tell me eventually…_ I decided and yawned.

"I have school tomorrow. There are blankets and pillows in the closet at the end of the hall upstairs. I'm taking a shower and going to bed. I recommend sleeping in the spare bedroom in case someone happens to come in the house unexpectedly…" I yawned again, "Goodnight. Have fun talking about me and whatever plan you come up with to go home…"

I raised a hand in a wave as I sauntered up the stairs towards the bathroom oblivious to the shocked silence Id left behind me.

They traded shocked looks now that I was out of earshot.

"Is she fucking psychic?" Hidan asked in a low voice.

"I think she was trying to be funny again" Kisame answered with a toothy grin.

"We should take her advice and get some sleep. **Yeah 'cause sadly we don't know how we got here" **Zetsu declared as he shifted position in the large overstuffed lazy-boy in the corner.

"Or how to get back to our world" Kakuzu added on sourly, "Which makes coming up with a plan pointless. Back to the girl though, what's to stop her from running off and telling her whole damn world about us?"

Silence met Kakuzu's words as they all glanced at the ceiling where they could hear water running. Itachi spoke up, "She said we were comic book characters. Who would believe her?"

"Good point" Kisame nodded as he stood up and yawned, "Meeting adjourned?"

The rest of the Akatsuki present stood up and filed up the stairs. Finding the mentioned pillows and blankets they set up camp in the bedroom at the end of the hall that turned out was right across from my own room.

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**Perhaps not as overly exciting as some people would like, but it's still a**** work in progress.**


	3. What Are You Rabbits?

**As a note on the title, for those of you who don't know rabbits and rodents in general are infamous for their fast breeding abilities. *giggles* I had perverted thoughts after coming up with my title… I am keeping my brain in a jar though, so it's to be expected…**

**Also thank you to my two wonderful reviewers:**

**Mika and Sukira - I'm glad you like the comedy!**

**KayAGoldsiv87 - Thank for the reminder! But let's keep that between us... I might get bit for forgetting... XD**

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**Crossworlds ~ Three ~ What are You Guys? Rabbits?**

_*Beep-beep-beep*_

I growled at my alarm clock. Unlike the night before I hadn't slept well at all.

_*Beep-beep-beep*_

"Stupid, hateful, no-good, fucking alarm clock from hell…" I growled out using Power Words on the thing which it ignored.

_*Beep-beep-beep*_

I'd woken up several times to the same freaking dream that I can't even remember now yet I _know_ it was the same dream and it had struck me as important.

_*Beep-beep-beep*_

"_Arhg!!" _I snarled out as I fumbled for the off button, _"Shut the fuck up you hateful thing and go to hell!!" _I woke the Akatsuki with my outraged yelling as I finally hit the off button. Still growling under my breathe I began pulling on clothes.

In the guest room Hidan chuckled with amusement as he propped himself up on an elbow and grinned at the other Akatsuki members, "I don't believe she's a morning person."

Mutters of agreement met this statement though none of them made any move to get up. I yanked the door open a few moments later to their obvious surprise. I glared around the room a moment at my obviously awake house guest, "If you want any breakfast I suggest you get up and move your asses downstairs."

I shut the door with a bit more force than necessary, but yet not quite a slam before stomping downstairs. Hidan was struggling with obvious laughter while Kisame chuckled softly now that I was out of earshot. Itachi was as impassive as ever while Kakuzu shook his head though it was possible he was smiling behind his mask from the way the corner of his eyes had wrinkled up. Zetsu regarded them with a neutral expression before shaking his head.

They pulled on their clothes and went downstairs to the warm aroma of cooking eggs and bacon. Since I wasn't happy that morning I didn't feel like making the wonderful type of breakfast that I'm capable of. I plunked some toast in the toaster and opened the cabinet with the drinking glasses in it.

"Glasses," I pointed, "Sink, water," I pointed again, "Refrigerator, orange juice, milk." I pointed for the third time. I picked up my own glass and got myself a glass of water. I grabbed plates and set them in a stack on the table minus my own with the bacon on one plate, toast on another, and scrambled eggs in the skillet on a hot pad.

I added forks in a pile, kept one for myself and piled some eggs and bacon on my plate. I snagged a piece of toast and started eating. I watched them take place and get their own food and although they didn't say anything I had a suspicion they were laughing at me.

"So what the hell has your panties in a twist?" Hidan asked with an arrogant sneer. I glared at him for a long moment before answering.

"Same damn dream woke me up about five times and I can't even remember what the hell it was" I grumbled into my water wishing I had thought to make myself some coffee.

"Then how do you know it was the same dream?" Kakuzu asked. I looked at him. Of course he had his mask off to eat and since the manga didn't ever give a good shot of him with his mask off so I memorized his features while I answered.

"They _felt _the same" Kakuzu was _hot, _stitches or no. If anything they made him all the more interesting. I rubbed my forehead as I thought about it but didn't say anything else. My dreams had felt more like memories, but I didn't know if they were _my_ memories.

Sighing I stood up and ditched my dishes in the sink. I pulled on my favorite shoes that happened to be converse high tops and grabbed my purse and backpack and paused at the door.

"Put the dishes in the sink with water, I'll wash them when I get home. There's bread in the breadbox by the sink and cut cheese, turkey, and ham in the fridge for lunch. I'll be home around three thirty. Behave. No jutsu, no fighting," I pointed at Hidan, "No sacrifices," I pointed at Kakuzu, "No trying to filch anything," I pointed at Kisame, "If you want to train with your sword you are to go back to the Wreck."

I scratched my head as I tried to think of anything else. Finally I sighed and gestured to the door, "No one should come here but if anyone does _hide._ See ya."

I waved and went and got in my car then off I went.

They traded looks as I pulled out of sight. Kisame shook his head grinning ruefully, "She knows us and who knows what else about our world."

"Indeed. **She may even know something about the future…" **Zetsu added on. That brought a tense silence at the possibilities.

"And we don't even know how much" Kakuzu growled out obviously irritated.

"Fuck" Hidan breathed out at the gravity of the situation. Then again there wasn't much they could do at the moment. I was gone and they wouldn't even begin to know where to look for my school.

"We'll ask her when she gets home" Itachi said as he stood and made his way into the kitchen to deposit his plate and fork in the sink. He kept his glass of water as he made his way to the living room and took a seat on the couch and turned on the T.V.

Zetsu fallowed his example before melding with the polished wooden floors and vanishing. He grew back out of the ground at the Wreck. Emerging he took his time taking a good look around where they had found themselves the day before.

'_What caused us to appear here? __**With that girl being so conveniently nearby?' **_Zetsu wondered to himself as he continued to study the leaf covered ground in front of him amid the many different trees of varying ages, some even wrapped in the clinging vines of the honey suckle.

Zetsu growled to himself as he continued to pace around the area around Ali's beloved Wreck. Why she spent time there when she had her house Zetsu couldn't understand. For some reason he felt like she was hiding something from them…

As he stood glaring at the spot where they had appeared a familiar, yet foreign ripping sound accompanied by a brief flickering of light took place. Zetsu faded into the tree he had been standing beside and mentally sighed at the four figures standing before him.

I couldn't help but feel smug despite the throbbing pain on the left side of my face that throbbed worse around my eye. I was going to have a lovely shiner by tomorrow. I smiled at myself in my rearview mirror even though it hurt.

The entire left side of my face had darkened slightly while the skin around my eye was darker yet with rich purples and dark blues. My eye was swelling shut, but what little I could still see of it was an irritated red. I probably wouldn't be able to see out of it at all by tomorrow.

I chuckled darkly as I looked back at the road and turned onto the last road on my way home before my lane-like drive way. I'd need to take some aspirin when I got home to forgo a whopping headache that I was most likely to have tomorrow.

I frowned at myself as I went over the fight in my head. What _had _I been thinking? I was suddenly angry with myself. I hadn't taken karate for almost seven years for nothing! I growled and hunched my shoulders in annoyance at myself.

Brittany had caught me off guard next to my car when I had again refused to write her paper and still better I had made her look a fool. That part made me smile, but her using her purse to slug me in the side of the head had taken me off guard.

As soon as she struck all her little friends joined in as well, luckily they didn't have anything in the way of muscle so I wouldn't even bruise from half of them. They hurt now though and somebody had landed a good hit on my eye which was why it was darker than the rest of my face.

I was pretty sure Brittany had done that too.

I gave another, darker chuckle as I forced myself to relax and let off the gas pedal as I relived the reason I felt so smug. Brittany may have bruised my face, but I was positive I'd broken her nose.

She probably wouldn't even have the nerve to show her face at school for a few days. That didn't hurt _my_ feelings of course but it did mean her little prep posse would probably harass me more than usual.

Then again Brittany wasn't the only one I'd landed some good hits on. Some of them would be nursing some _very _painful bruises for a while. I grinned smugly at myself in the mirror like an idiot as I pulled into my parking spot at home.

Grabbing my purse, I again didn't have homework, I stepped out my car, but I didn't' get far as a solid weight planted two paws against my hips. I sat back down on my car seat and took my time greeting my best friend on four legs.

My dog, Molly, was nothing short of a mutt. One of my redneck friends, John had given her to me since she was a runt and we'd been inseparable ever since. She was a little taller than my knee and covered in short, bristly salt and pepper fur with several large black spots on her back with smaller ones cover her neck and ears and over her right eye.

My poor, lanky dog was considered ugly by the general population. My parents hated her, but to me, Molly was the most gorgeous dog in the world. Giving her a final pat I stood up and wondered slowly up the steps and into the house while Molly trotted off to wherever she had been. Probably at John's with her 'boyfriend.'

I still smug as I shut the door behind me and pushed my shoes off with my toe. Looking up I blinked. Before I could say anything Hidan cut me off, "What the hell happened to you?!"

I couldn't help the sudden, smug grin that spread across my face. I knew it was what Audrey called my 'wolf-grin' which made me all the happier. I leaned on the back of a chair and continued grinning as I answered, "Got in a fight."

"I hope they look worse than you do!" Kisame laughed at me. I grinned wider, Audrey would have run away in mock fear by now.

"Of course," I answered, as I held up one finger, "First rule of getting in a fight is to always make sure the other guy, or multiple girls in this case, hurt worse than you do." I chuckled darkly and felt the air stiffen slightly, "Plus when it comes to Brittany and her little prep posse I fight dirty."

"You say that like you've had training" A new voice asked and I finally took complete notice of my four new additions: Pein, Konan, Deidara, and Tobi…

I blinked and gave my head a quick, startled shake as my attention was directed to the newest additions to my 'family.' I blinked before grinning at the four of them, "What are you guys? Rabbits? I leave for a few hours, come back, and you've multiplied."

I grinned happily, still riding the high from my fight and the smug happiness from winning. I felt the air thicken, possibly I had made Pein angry but since I knew he wasn't the real Akatsuki leader I didn't feel any real fear. I didn't have any real respect for someone who knowingly played as a figure head.

When it became apparent I wasn't getting a reply to my attempt at humor I sighed and pulling out the chair I was leaning on, sat down, "But to answer your question my Grandma started me in karate and it keeps me in good shape. I'm no ninja for sure and I definitely couldn't keep up with any of you, but against Brittany and her prep posse it was a cake walk."

Just as Pein opened his mouth to say something my pocket started meowing at me with the first Full Metal Alchemist intro song playing in the background. I giggled as I pulled my cell out of my pocket and answered it, "Hullo Kitty-Girl."

The Akatsuki gathered could probably even hear her hysteria as she went into freaked-out mode, _"Ali! OhMyGad! I heard! I heard you were in a fight! And that that whore-bitch Brittany and her prep posse kicked your ass!! Where are you?! Are you at the hospital?! Or your house?! Do you need help?! Should I call your parents?! Should I call the cops?! Do I need to come?! Where are you?! Are you okay?! Should I-"_

My laughing interrupted her, "I'm fine! Audrey, you know my rules! Brittany surprised me and I have a black eye plus a couple bruises from where her pack got lucky. The whore-bitch didn't get off as lightly though…" I gave one of my darker chuckles for effect, "I broke her nose and she ran. After a couple good hits on her minions they ran too."

"_Ugh! That cowardly _bitch_!!" _Audrey ranted with feeling, I could even see her pacing in my mind's eye and smothered a giggle, _"You know she'll try to get you back Ali…" _

I grinned at my phone, "Pft. I may fight dirty, but I was still playing nice when I only broke her nose… She knows me well enough from grade school to know that I won't roll over and play dead just because she tells me. If it's war she wants then it's war I'll give her."

I could feel the Akatsuki tense up at the word 'war' so I'd have some explaining to do when I got off the phone…

"_You'd do that?" _Audrey asked.

"You bet I will" I grinned at the phone. I might even call in a few favors from some of the guys I run around with in the summertime. Big, musclely, redneck boys who have a soft spot for me who happen to have loaded guns in their outrageously big, tank-like trucks at all times.

"_Be careful Ali." _She said at last.

I grinned again, "C'mon Kitty-Girl. It's me. I can take care of myself. Brit can think she's fooling me but I _was_ her best friend for nearly eight years. I know how her head works and how little it actually _does _work. I'll give you the gory details in the morning."

"'_Kay. Bye." _

"Bye." I answered and hung up. Turning back to my house guests I found myself under some very hard glares…

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***giggles* On another note, Audrey is based off of one of my 3-D friends. She really meows at me, she is also a huge FMA fangirl(she even has a red trench coat with the FMA symbol on the back like Ed's), and I really call her Kitty-Girl. She's even going to contribute to the plot later. *giggles* You're very excited aren't you Kitty-Girl? She squealed and hugged me when I told her for those of you who cared to know.**

**I _love_ getting reviews and I promise to respond to everyone who gives me one! XOXOXO**


	4. Falling Asleep, Waking Up

**I apologise for not getting this up yesterday, but I had some stuff come up... The main point that it was my eighteenth birthday and I was enjoying my cake... ^_^**

**Any way my wonderful readers, you will get your first peek at the actual plot to my wonderful story and after some debat between characters in my head I have decided that this portion of CrossWorlds if only Part One. Part Two will be an entirely new story as I have decided to include other anime/manga as well!!**

**Don't worry, this part isn't ending any time soon. *giggles* I have chapters pre-written up to number eight and I'm not near half done yet and all of the chapters for CrossWorlds will always be 2,000+ words....**

**So who's excited?**

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**CrossWorlds ~ Four ~ Falling Asleep, Waking up**

"War?" Pein asked in a dangerously soft voice.

I sighed, "It's slang for girl war. My ex-best friend Brittany likes to run around pretending to be Queen Bitch and rule the school. Mostly she uses empty threats that work on most of the student populace for some weird reason, but not me."

I grinned at Pein then and waited as the tension went down again. His expression didn't change and I briefly wondered if Sasori had turned him into a puppet and if the reason his face didn't change was because it was wooden.

"So what, un? You two will have some sort of battle, un?" Deidara asked.

"Not in the sense that you think" I answered, "Teenage girls in this day and age do battle with words, rumors, and gossip."

"And what happened today?" Itachi asked.

I smiled my best, most evil wolf smile, "I pushed the right buttons. I know her weak points and I hammered them until she cracked. Plus she started in on Grandma, which was plain dirty so I returned the favor and she couldn't handle it."

"So you're a strategist" Kakuzu put in.

"I'll take that as a compliment to my intelligence but no. Nothing so fancy. I'm an artist, I look at things differently than most people" I replied as my grin shifted to cheerful.

Until Deidara laughed at me. The laughter wouldn't even have bothered me until he insulted my artistic ability, "_You're _an artist?!"

It probably wouldn't have even bothered me then except that none of them had even _seen_ any of my art. I didn't get a chance to reply as he continued, "You don't look like much of an artist, un. Your art is probably boring any way..."

I could have made a lot of replies to that. I felt my cold anger trickle into place. I'm sure the Akatsuki felt it too. Deidara was probably all braced up for an attack on his art so I bypassed the art and went straight after him.

"Are you gender confused?" I asked him innocently as if he hadn't said a word on my art, "I mean with the hairstyle and here it is common knowledge that blonde's have mental and intellectual issues. Plus like I like thought like only like girls like had like speech impediments."

It was a low blow to dig on blondes and I knew before I said it that there isn't any real proof on hair color and intelligence. I don't have anything against blondes either, Audrey's blonde after all. Yet I needed a dig and hair color just happened to provide.

There was a stunned silence fallowing my statement. Then the normally stoic Itachi _chuckled. _It seemed to be a signal as Kisame and Hidan roared with loud enough laughter that I couldn't tell about the others.

I struggled a moment to remain serious before I lost and grinned. Deidara sputtered a moment before reaching for the clay pouch at his waste.

"Nuh-_Uh!!" _I yelled at him as I stood up suddenly and shook a finger at him, "You _will not _make bombs in _my _house!!"

He probably would have gone ahead and tried something before Pein spoke into the silence make by my outburst, "No bombs Deidara."

He glared at me, hate swimming visibly through his veins. I frowned at him and sighed, "And would you have acted any different if I'd made a dig on _your_ art? Hell, you haven't even _seen _any of my work!"

I pouted at him. He glared angry and opened his mouth to reply but I cut him off, "I'm not trying to pick on you Deidara. I cheated any way. I imagine your fellow Akatsuki members have filled you in on the situation?"

The silence fallowing was thick and heavy and I groaned into it as I picked up on the warily angry undertones, "What is it _now_?"

"You know about us." Pein answered.

I sighed, "Half the _world _knows about you."

"We need to know how much. Such knowledge can be dangerous." Pein replied.

I grinned and pounced on the opening, "Exactly. Your world is an open book to me." My face lost its smile and turned serious, "From what the first five told me of the time line I know part of your world's future. You _want_ to know what's going to happen and I'm not going to tell you."

I crossed my arms for effect and waited. When no one spoke for several minutes I sighed again, "This is the part where you ask why..."

Pein's eyes flickered with something... Was that _amusement_? No way!

"Very well then, why?" Pein asked.

I gave my cheekiest grin as I answered, "My classes at school are easy I can go through them in my sleep so I put more thought into my growing family here and about this particular problem. I think if I told you anything about your world it could possibly change the future which would change _how _things happen _here_ since your world is a book to us it could mess things up here since books aren't suppose to change like that."

There was the silence again... I was getting pretty annoyed with these guys and their untalkativeness... It was ruining my exceptionally good mood.

"Tobi thinks Ali-chan is smart!!" The orange masked ninja suddenly cheered and bounced forward to wrap me in a hug. I sucked in a quick breath to swallow my gasp of pain as several bruised protested the sudden pressure.

"To...bi..." I managed to get out, "You're squishing several new bruises..."

"Oh!" He released me immediately and I sighed, "Tobi is sorry!!"

_Yeah right... I wonder if the Sharingan can see that kind of stuff... He probably did that on purpose!! I'll pay you back for that one Madara Uchiha!! _I thought furiously as I sighed with resignation this time. I wanted my aspirin.

I paced slowly into the kitchen and hooked the stool with my toe so I could reach the high cabinet above the windows above the sink. Peeking in I located the aspirin bottom and climbed down. Getting a glass of water I shook out two pills.

I was about to down them when a hand closed on my wrist, stopping me. I turned my irritated glare onto the hand's owner who happened to be Kakuzu. I found that mildly surprising but I didn't show it as I fixed him with a glare while I waited.

"What are these?" He asked.

"Aspirin," I answered, "Medicine. They will hold off the headache I know I'll probably get tomorrow from my lovely black eye."

"It's not poison?" Pein asked.

I glared at him next, "All medicine is poison unless taken in the right amount. Why would I poison myself any way?"

Pein blinked. Had I just showed him up?

Kakuzu looked at Pein who nodded. Kakuzu released my hand. I glared at both of them a moment before downing the pills with a swallow of water. I glanced at the clock on the microwave then and sighed.

_6:19 Time to start dinner..._

"So..." I began, "Who's hungry?"

I made them hamburgers since they were quick, easy, and something they'd never had before. I did the dishes then drifted into the front living room where they had spread out on the assorted couches, chairs, the love seat, and my bean bag.

_Tobi _was the one who had taken the bean bag and I wondered briefly if he knew and had done it on purpose. I frowned and noted that there was still a space I could squeeze into between Kisame and Itachi on the couch.

They were watching NCIS again which I approved of. I walked slowly over and tucked myself between Kisame and Itachi silently without asking permission to sit down, it was my couch after all.

I could feel the majority of the Akatsuki watching me but I didn't pay any attention and concentrated on NCIS as I didn't know if it was a rerun yet or not. Another few minutes and I discovered that it was part of a marathon so it was, but since it was NCIS I got over it pretty fast.

I settled in to watch my favorite show perfectly aware that I was being studied. I wasn't sure how late we stayed up watching NCIS. I don't know what time I fell asleep on Kisame either, but it was the least of my worries when I woke up...

I'm used to my alarm clock waking me up so I usually jerk awake pretty fast. So when I began drifting slowly towards wakefulness I figured it must be Saturday. I was rather warm and comfortable as I drifted in that place between being awake and being asleep where all my thoughts are fuzzy.

I sighed contently and snuggled down into my pillows... Then I felt my blanket tighten around my waste briefly before going slack again. Weird. But I was warm and comfy so I didn't care all that much until I started hearing the voices...

"Damn Kisame she must like you." Fallowed by laughter.

"_Don't wake up yet."_

"She fell asleep on you, un?" A yawn.

"_Listen."_

"We all fell asleep down here. **There is at least one guest bedroom upstairs but where the hell are we all going to sleep now? I'm sure as hell not sleeping like that again!" **Together but apart.

"_It's important."_

"She's not awake yet?" A calculated, medium voice. Nice to listen to.

"_You need to understand."_

"No. She mumbles a lot though." A soft, very close rumble.

"_You're not alone."_

"What are we going to do with her?" Female, also cold yet clear.

"_Help them."_

"She knows about us. Yet she won't tell us anything..." A cold commander that sounded irritated.

"_Then they can help you."_

"She made sense about why she wouldn't though..." Measured, old.

_Granma... _I stirred restlessly, mumbling yet making no sense.

"Is Ali waking up now?" Old yet, childish.

"_I am with you, but I cannot stay."_

I moaned in my half-sleep, shivering as I thrashed weakly in restlessness, "No... No... Oh, no, no, no..."

"The fuck?" The one who laughed.

"She doesn't seem to like her dream. **Maybe she's frightened..." **Two in one.

"_Find yourself dear one."_

"Gran..." I murmured as my body instinctively curled up as if I were in pain.

"Gran? As in Grandmother?" Cold, commanding.

"Her Grandma died a couple years ago she told us." The nice, medium voice.

"_I love you baby. Help them... And find... Yourself...." _Fading, fading, gone...

I came awake then and sat bolt upright panting. I'd sweat through my clothes in a matter of a few minutes yet I was cold. I knew if I looked in a mirror I'd see a pale girl with one side of her face purple, black, and blue.

"Ali?" That was the childish voice that held the older undertone. Looking I found it was Tobi.

I swallowed, calling moisture into my paper dry mouth, "Yes?"

"Are you alright?" The nice, medium toned voice asked that turned out to be Itachi.

I blinked at him and rubbed my forehead as I looked at the floor, "I don't know."

"You were dreaming" It wasn't a question and came from Pein as the cold, commanding voice.

"About my Granma" I answered.

"What happened?" The rumble at my immediate right side was Kisame.

"She... Told me to help you guys." I answered truthfully.

"And?" The impatient voice was Hidan.

"And I will" I answered as I stood up then glanced at the clock on the wall.

"Fuck!" I swore and raced for the stairs.

"What's wrong, un?!" Deidara called after me. The rest of the Akatsuki had stood up and were all watching me as I took the stairs two at a time.

"I have to be at school in thirty minutes!" I called back as I charged into my room and quickly changed underwear and tee-shirts.

"What's wrong with that? **You have thirty minutes" **Zetsu told me as I skidded into the kitchen to grab a granola bar and a Full Throttle from the fridge. I was so going to need the caffeine.

"It takes me twenty to get there!" I called back as I grabbed my purse and ran out the door ran for my car. Starting it up and back up and zipped out the driveway oblivious to the laughter I was leaving behind in my house.

"She can really move when she wants to" Itachi said thoughtfully as he watched my car disappear from sight as I rounded a curve in the lane that made up our driveway. Then turned back to the others.

"So what are we going to do? **We need to get home" **Zetsu asked to change the subject.

"First we need to figure out what we're going to eat" Hidan said, "Because I'm fucking hungry and that bitch didn't fix breakfast today!"

* * *

**And I ddin't even leave you guys on a cliffhanger. Aren't you all proud of me?**


	5. Life Gets Complicated

**Since I _was _a day late last week I decided to be a week early this week, even if it is a bit late in the day... But a day early none-the-less!! :)**

**This is where you get a taste of what is to come so brace yourselves!!**

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**CrossWorlds ~ Five ~ Live Gets Complicated **

I came home feeling tired and grumpy while wishing furiously that it was Friday. Parking the car I unfortunately had homework so I was forced to grab my World History book and I now had to keep a dream journal for Psychology class… I'd probably make the whole thing up. My dreams are too violent and strange to be general knowledge.

Trudging up the steps I let myself into the house and blinked at the nine pairs of eyes that turned to look at me. I knew I looked rough and tired then to prove it I covered an enormous yawn with my hand. When none of them said anything I sighed, "Nice to see you guys too."

Grumbling under my breath about ungrateful house guests, annoying preppy girls, muscle bound dumb jocks, and black eyes I walked slowly up the stairs to my room. I shut the door behind me and flopped onto my bed. I laid there staring at my ceiling until that got to be too much for me and reached over for my iPod.

I felt around on the shelf where I plugged it into my stereo and growled as I rolled over. I glared at the empty charger plug in and stereo plug in. Where the hell was my iPod?

I went over where I'd had the thing last and groaned. It was back at the Wreck along with a lot of other very important possessions such as my laptop, sketchpad, and Naruto manga. I groaned and stood up to head back downstairs.

I stood there glaring at my houseguests before my eyes found Kakuzu. Then I stood there glaring at him with my best 'I hate you' look. It must have been a particularly good one or he didn't like my stare because he fidgeted slightly.

"What?" He finally demanded, still looking uncomforted.

I narrowed my eyes at him and pouted, "I ought to make you go back to the Wreck and get the stuff I left back there the day you showed up but I feel like a walk at the moment. So nothing."

I shrugged at him and the rest of the Akatsuki and walked out the door.

Hidan laughed as soon as I shut the door and was out of earshot. Shaking his head he grinned at his partner, "Damn! Never thought I'd meet the girl who could make a bastard like _you _squirm! That was one hell of a fucking glare too!"

"**It's probably entertaining to see her angry. **She doesn't seem to have much of a temper though" Zetsu answered, chuckling softly.

"She doesn't show it any way" Kisame put in from his spot on the couch, "Wonder what she'll feed us tonight…"

"She is taking to the fact that nine criminals from another world are living in her house very well" Kakuzu nodded as he relaxed back to his normal self. That glare had been freaking scary coming from such a young girl, _Plus the world weary attitude she displays is unusual for someone so young…_

"We might not be the only ones to show up here" Pein stated as his eyes narrowed.

"Should we fallow her, un?" Deidara asked aloud. He had become particularly devoted to their hostess despite her rather intense outburst at him the previous day. Perhaps that was what had endeared her to him.

"No. Just Zetsu. She won't even know he's there" Pein answered looking at the Akatsuki's primary informant and spy. Zetsu nodded and shrank into the wood floor.

The walk to the Wreck was a typical one. Uneventful and quiet, just what I needed to unwind. I sighed as I came to the Wreck. The past few days events were catching up with me…

I groaned and rubbed my forehead with the heel of my hand. What the hell was I going to do?

I had the freaking _Akatsuki _living in my house. A new girl-war had just sparked at school with me on one side and Brittany and her prep posse on the other. Plus I had to keep Audrey out of it, I wasn't going to let her get hurt on my account. Then there was this morning…

I sucked in a quick breath and held it. This morning…

Had that truly been Granma's voice? Why would she care what happened to the Akatsuki? How did she even _know _the Akatsuki? What did she mean by them helping me? And finding myself? Wasn't I just me?

I let my breath out in a rush as my shoulders sagged. This too much for me to handle. I was seventeen, just seventeen. Seventeen year olds aren't suppose to have to deal with this. These complicated types of problems aren't suppose to come along until a person's an adult!

Then again I would be eighteen in something like three weeks. Maybe this was like and early birthday present to me… Haha…

I climbed onto the top of the Wreck and sat down hard on its roof with my legs pretzel shaped underneath me. I began to slowly pull things to me and arrange them in my bag. I wasn't in a hurry to get back to my houseguests.

It wasn't that I didn't like them it was that I wasn't _used _to _sharing_ my house. I'm used to being by myself and suddenly having nine people from another world that I barely know in a sense was a little unsettling.

Then there was the part where eight of those nine guests were _male._ Not only that, but I was fairly certain Deidara was a perv. None of them had made a move so to speak, but I was still keeping my guard up. I trusted them to a point, but I didn't know how far that trust _went._

I had read way, way too many fanfics about them to be comfortable. I'd even written my own!

Plus I'd fallen asleep on _Kisame_ last night. The thought of it made my cheeks heat up as a blush spread across my face. I was a Kisame fangirl and falling asleep on him was a tad bit embarrassing…

I sighed as I zipped the backpack shut as my blush faded then sighed again. I was doing a lot of sighing lately. I should look that up in my Psychology book when I got home and see if it had a meaning.

_Probably does… It's probably a sign of oncoming depression, exhaustion, and stress. _I gave a half grin to myself as I selected a strap to pull the backpack on when a strange ripping sound and a flickering of light beyond the honey suckle caught my attention.

_Please, please, please no…_ I released the bag strap without putting it on and climbed down silently from the Wreck. I crept forward slowly, keeping low then peeked around the tree and honey suckle, dreading what I would find.

I blinked at the three figures standing below me and almost groaned aloud as I closed my eyes in horror. Why oh why was this happening to _me_?

I opened my eyes to frown at none other than Orochimaru, Sasuke Uchiha, and Jiraiya the Toad Sage. That was different… Orochimaru and Sasuke together I understood, the Snake Man was training Sasuke, but Jiraiya?

That part didn't make sense at all.

"Where are we?" Jiraiya asked in his serious voice.

"Jiraiya, it's been a while. I was about to ask you the same…" Orochimaru answered in what I classified as a purring sort of voice.

In the meantime Sasuke had seen me with his Sharingan so we were having a staring contest of course. Orochimaru and Jiraiya seemed to pick up on my presence as well as they both tensed and looked up at me from on top of the bluff as well.

I groaned as I stepped into view and began picking my way down the bluff while muttering, "Why does this happen to me? It's not as if I didn't have enough house guests…"

I grumbled to myself as I stopped a few feet away. Out of immediate striking distance, but it wasn't like I would stand a chance against them any way if they did decide to attack. I propped one fist on my hip and frowned at the three of them.

"Let me guess" I began, "All three of you heard a ripping noise and saw flashes of light then the next thing you know you're here. Am I right?"

Orochimaru attempted the 'I'm your friend' act that was as fake as Brittany's, "Indeed my dear, I-"

"I'm not anybody's 'dear' Snake Man. The name's Ali." I growled, "Cut the crap and go straight to asking how I know. I've had a shitty couple of days, I don't have any patients for dancing around the point."

For a moment I thought he was going to attack me, judging by the rage that briefly flickered across his face. Then Jiraiya laughed and grinned at me. The tension from the other two rose as Jiraiya apparently relaxed.

My bitchy attitude apparently hadn't bothered him one bit.

"So how do you know how we got here?" The Toad Sage asked.

"You're not the first ones" I shrugged.

"Who were the first ones?" Sasuke asked.

I looked away and fidgeted with my fingers, "Umm… Well… You and them… Uh… You aren't exactly… Um... Friends…"

"Your point girl?" Orochimaru asked.

"Ali" I corrected him as I fidgeted some more, "This isn't your world and there haven't been ninja in this world from probably around seven hundred years. Even back then they weren't like you guys. There is no such thing as jutsu and the like… So a fight isn't really… Desirable. It would draw to much attention."

I looked back at their faces and found them emotionless as the Akatsuki's had been when I'd told them similar things. I frowned at them and waited for them ask questions. At the moment my full quota of moving a conversation along had been used up so I feel back on my patients and waited.

"**We have company. **Orochimaru, Itachi's brother, and Jiraiya the Toad Sage." Zetsu told the rest of the Akatsuki, both voices sour as he melded half way out of the wall.

"Fuck" Hidan summed it up.

"What do we do, un?" Deidara asked.

"We go save Ali!" Tobi answered, "She isn't a ninja and they might hurt her!"

"**Wait"** Zetsu told them, "She's holding her own against them…"

"She's _fighting_ them?" Kisame wanted to know immediately.

"No. **She's talking to them. She may not be at her best, **but she seems to have already won Jiraiya over and is working on Orochimaru and Sasuke" Zetsu answered using a jutsu that allowed him to appear in both places.

The Akatsuki traded looks but fallowed Pein's example as he began putting his ninja sandals on. He straightened and looked at the assembled members now preparing themselves for battle, they would stand ready any way.

"So you're saying that our world is a… comic book?" Orochimaru asked with obvious distaste. At least he and Sasuke weren't trying to attack me.

I nodded, "Yeah and a T.V. show that's called anime, the comic book is called a manga."

"How much do you know?" Sasuke asked me with narrowed eyes.

I knew he was talking about Itachi, but it couldn't hurt to play dumb. It would make them underestimate me in the future and I could play that to my advantage…

Maybe Kakuzu had been right and I am a strategist…

"About what?" I asked.

"My brother. Itachi Uchiha." He demanded in a more aggressive tone as I felt his rage spark.

I narrowed my eyes at his tone and crossed my arms yet kept my tone even, "More than you."

"Which is?" He almost snarled.

I was fighting dirty and I knew it, "A lot."

Suddenly he was nose to nose with me with his sword blade at my throat, "Tell me."

I hadn't seen him move. The sword worried me a teeny-tiny bit, but quickly got over that as I smiled at him. My mood blacked as I continued my dirty fighting.

"Threatening me doesn't make me anymore cooperative Sasuke" I told him using my best bored drawl, "Dead people don't talk. Try asking nicely instead."

Orochimaru chuckled this time, "The girl appears to have a mind Sasuke. She is right."

Sasuke stepped back slowly and sheathed his sword. I grinned at Orochimaru as Sasuke moved away I shook my head, "Naw, I left my brain at home in a jar on my bookshelf."

All three of them blinked at me. Sasuke had schooled his feature to blankness, Jiraiya looked disgusted, and Orochimaru looked interested…

I rolled my eyes, "It was a _joke_. I have a rather morbid sense of humor… Especially when I'm as worn out as I am."

"Do you know anything about my brother?" Sasuke asked monotonely.

I sighed at him, "Yes, but it's not anything I can tell you."

His eyes narrowed and opened his mouth to say something, but I cut him off, "Revenge is for fools and the mad. Do either of those terms fit you?"

It was a line from The Mentalist that I'd remembered even if I didn't agree with it, "If I tell you anything it could change what is suppose to happen in your world and mess of the space, time continuum."

"Tell me or I'm going to kill you…" Sasuke breathed out.

"Hey now-" Jiraiya began.

"No you won't little brother. This is not a place for battles" Itachi said as the Akatsuki suddenly appeared in a loose circle around us.

_Shit. No… I can't let them fight…_

"Itachi… I will kill you" Sasuke told his older brother as he turned to face him and readied a Chidori.

"No…" I whispered as I tried to step forward but found myself stopped by Jiraiya's hand on my shoulder. I gasped as Sasuke lunged forward with the Chidori.

"No!!" I cried out, "No! _Stop!!_"

He stopped. So did everyone else, just not in the way I expected…

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**Be prepared for the weirdness to start next week!! Mwahahaha!!**


	6. Then Life Gets Really Weird

**I apologise for not getting this out yesterday, but the document manager was down... .**

**Any way, this is where you get a true glimpse at what's to come... Heh...**

**Thanks to my wonderful readers, thanksx2 to my readers who leave me reviews, and thanksx3 to my readers who review and send me random messages!! I wuve you people!! *hugs***

**And lots of love and hugs to my friend Audrey who has turned into a squealing, happy person who demands to know what's going to happen every time she sees me... Create and account and leave me ratings Kitty-Girl!! :[**

**Words -2240**

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**CrossWorlds ~ Six ~ Then Life Gets Really Weird**

Everything just froze in place.

I stood staring at Itachi and Sasuke before me with wide eyes. Sasuke was frozen _in midair. _Nothing moved, even the little crackles of energy coming of Sasuke's Chidori were still in the air. What had happened?

_Nothing_ moved. And I mean _nothing._

I twisted my head around to look up at the Toad Sage and found him with his mouth partly open as if to say something, yet no words came. I reached up to pry myself loose from his hold and found that a bit harder than it should have.

I grumbled under my breath and nearly jumped out of my skin when my grumble sounded all weird and echo-y to my ears. I looked around with wide eyes and noticed for the first time that the world around me had a weird shimmer to it, like it was July and ninety degrees in the shade but it felt colder…

I shivered lightly as I kept trying to pry Jiraiya's finger's open. I managed to get loose and nearly fell on my face before I caught myself. I looked back to find him still unmoving and staring ahead at Sasuke and Itachi with his mouth partly open.

I turned to look at the Uchiha brothers myself. I hesitated for a long moment before stepping cautiously forward to stand slightly behind and to the side of Sasuke who was closest. Even his Chidori was frozen.

I moved around to stand to the side of him. I was afraid to step in front of him in case whatever had stopped him wore off and he started moving again. I did _not_ want to end my life in the path of Sasuke's Chidori.

Still nothing.

I slowly moved to stand in front of him and flinched slightly from the intensity of his face. The rage written in his eyes seemed almost wrong compared to his passive face that I knew he wore to keep emotion from showing.

I felt a pang of pity and sadness for Sasuke. He didn't deserve this.

His anger and rage was born of the pain of losing his family…

_Just like me…_

Just like I had pretty much lost my parents when I was eight years old then Granma two years ago. Even though my parents had just moved on to pursue their lives in the business world it had still hurt to know they didn't care about me.

Unlike Sasuke I'd still had Granma. Then I'd lost her too…

"_**It is unusual for one so young to be able to muster such power… Especially when untrained…" **_A deep, strong voice cut into me feeling sorry for myself with a thoughtful patients yet there was something else underneath the gentle, masculine voice that struck a cord in my memory that I couldn't put name to.

I whirled around to find myself looking at one of the strangest creature's I'd seen in my entire life.

A gigantic snow white ram stood looking around with interest. At least it looked mostly like a ram with the curved golden horns and sheep-y looking face, but the fur covering most of him was longer and shaggy, more like something I expected to see on a llama.

Not only that, but my new acquaintance also had dreadlocks just behind his ears with gold beads threaded in them. A heavy collar made of gold and set with large sapphires was around his neck partly hidden by his wool. A shimmer at his feet drew my eyes to his hooves and I saw that they too were gold.

"_**This is a new thing for you youngling, is it not?" **_He asked gently as I continued to study him. He sounded almost grandfatherly and his obvious concern with my discomfort would have been touching if I didn't think I was going into shock.

I numbly nodded, not trusting my voice yet.

"_**I thought as much. It has been many years since I have been needed. I am glad you have awakened your Gifts" **_The ram continued as he stepped gracefully forward, pausing to sniff Sasuke's Chidori then snorted at the static smell.

"Gifts?" I questioned carefully, my voice wary.

A curt nod was given as the ram turned to face me again, intelligence gleaming in his liquid brown eyes from under a heavy forelock, _**"Yes. It has been many generations since a human in this world has been able to use such power and even longer since we could be seen with mortal eyes. Your mixed blood makes you unique so I do not know what your limits are."**_

"_What?"_ I asked with confusion as I stared at the ram with my best exhausted WTF look. Everything he'd just said had flown in one ear and out the other. Maybe I really had left my brain at home in a jar…

"_**Your Grandmother, Ishuko, she was from the same world as your friends here. She gave birth to your mother shortly after her arrival here. You mother did not inherent of Ishuko's power, but **_**you**_** did" **_The ram nodded at me, _**"Your father also carried a dormant attunement to the elements that awakened itself in you in combination with Ishuko's powers."**_

"Which makes me what exactly?" I grouched at him, "A freak? Some power-bound hero out to save the world? I hate to break it to you sheepy, but I'm not one of the good guys."

The ram snorted, obviously amused rather than angered by my own anger, _**"There is no 'good' or 'evil.' Power is Power and the user determines the use. My name is Kasugami not… Sheepy."**_

I smiled slowly at the distaste in his voice and felt a surge of respect of for the ram at his view of good and evil as it closely matched my own, "Mine's Ali."

"_**It is an honor to meet the grandchild of Ishuko" **_The ram replied as he bowed his head politely. Almost automatically I placed a fist over my heart and bowed deeply from the waste. As I straightened I know I looked confused as I let my hand fall back to my side, where had _that_ response come from?

"_**I see you remember the old ways"**_ Kasugami told me. I looked at him and tilted my head to one side in confusion and he continued, _**"Perhaps not through your memories, but Ishuko no doubt embodied some of her own memories into you."**_

"How?" I asked dully. I was getting pretty fed up with all these surprises popping into my life.

"_**I do not know. There are many methods." **_Kasugami replied.

I sighed and rubbed my forehead. Looking at Sasuke I sighed again. What was I going to do about _this_?

"Is there anything I can do about this?" I gestured to Sasuke, "I really don't want them to fight…"

Kasugami blinked, then snorted and offered what I classified as a smile, _**"You are permitted to move things while Time is stopped if that is what you mean."**_

I blinked then stepped forward and looked around. What could I use to disrupt or stop Sasuke's attack? Spotting a nice sized log that had once been destined to be a piece of firewood I picked it up and placed it directly in front of Sasuke's foot that had just been lifted. That would certainly trip him.

I blinked suddenly, "Kasugami can I… Um unfreeze just one person?"

Kasugami blinked. I swear he looked startled then nodded, _**"Yes. Touch them and will them to be… Unfrozen as you called it."**_

"Thanks" I stepped forward towards Itachi and hesitated, wondering if this was right, but I did need his help…

"Will he be able to see you?" I asked Kasugami, looking back at the ram.

He shook his head, _**"No and now that I think of it come here and touch my collar first. It will enable you to speak mind to mind with me whenever you wish."**_

I obeyed, the sapphire cool beneath my fingers, _"Did it work?"_

"_**Indeed. Well done youngling." **_Kasugami replied, making me realize that he had been speaking in my head the whole time.

I moved until I stood in front of Itachi and bit my lip, then hesitantly reached up to touch his cheek, _Unfreeze and please, please, please don't be pissed off at me…_

Itachi suddenly blinked and immediately grabbed my wrist. I didn't fight his hold as he pulled my hand away from his face. I was staring determinedly at his chest, I was afraid to see his face and even more afraid to look into his eyes.

"Ali…" He said my name. I looked up into his Sharingan eyes with my own wide brown ones and waited. His own eyes narrowed ever so slightly, though I couldn't tell exactly why. I just read the question in them.

"I woke you up because I know I can trust you" I told him bluntly, he blinked and I offered a tired smile, "I know your past Itachi, the _truth_ about your past. I know you're the one most able to help me right now and I know you'll keep my newfound secret."

He stared at me, but I knew my words, face, and eyes showed my sincerity. He released my wrist and I let my hand fall to my side as I heaved a mental sigh of relief.

"_**Well said little one" **_Kasugami murmured in my mind.

"Newfound?" Itachi questioned.

I nodded, "Yes. I didn't know I could do this until it just happened. All I knew is that I didn't want, couldn't _let_ you and Sasuke fight."

Itachi blinked at me, then surprisingly, let his Sharingan fade, leaving me to stare into his deep onyx eyes. I mentally groaned, why oh why did I have to have my number two anime crush standing in front of me looking helpless?

_Pft. Itachi Uchiha helpless? Yeah right. _I told myself. This was one man who would never be helpless.

"How much do you know?" I looked back to find he had reactivated his Sharingan and I could almost feel his anger.

"More that I can tell you." I replied sadly, of all of the Naruto characters Itachi was the one I respected the most, which was probably why I such a massive crush on him and his partner, "I do know that you were fallowing orders and you lied to Sasuke to protect him."

I smiled then, a sad smile as a very real tear traced its way down my cheek as I felt his shock hit me then spoke softly, "I would have done the same."

The silence stretched on and on as we stared at each other. Finally he closed his eyes for a long moment then opened them to look at me with what I swear was relief and perhaps respect, "What must I do?"

I sighed with relief and whipped my eyes as I smiled a real smile at him, "Keep this a secret and help me stop Sasuke without letting everyone know we did. I shudder to think what Orochimaru or Tobi would do if they knew I could do this."

I had turned away to look at Sasuke again when I felt the tension from Itachi rise. Before he could say anything I answered the unspoken question, "Yes I know Tobi is really Madara Uchiha under his mask, but don't tell him that."

"You really know too much about our world" Itachi told me with a _chuckle. _I grinned at him then gestured to Sasuke, "Any ideas? I put that log there, would a transportation jutsu on your part work to explain how you get away? You could even handsign now and I'll unfreeze things after I put my shoulder back in Jiraiya's hand."

Itachi stared at me a long moment then nodded. I swear I even saw the corners of his eyes narrow in a smile so I smiled back as he spoke, "Kakuzu might have had a point when he said you were a strategist. That is a good enough plan for now. Go back to Jiraiya. I'll nod when I'm ready."

Before he could I impulsively hugged him tight, burying my face in his shoulder and inhaling his scent. I felt him stiffen before placing a hand on my shoulder and another on my lower back in as much hug as I would get in return. I released him and stepped back with a smile, "Thank you Itachi."

I went back and pried Jiraiya's fingers open and wedged my shoulder back in. _"Kasugami?"_

"_**That was **_**very**_** well done little one. Ishuko would be proud. I am leaving now though you may still speak mind to mind with me whenever you wish."**_ The great ram bowed his head to me before fading away in the form of a silver mist.

I looked back at Itachi and watched him handsign for a teleportation jutsu. He stared at Sasuke then nodded to me ever so slightly. I sucked in a deep breath as I prepared to let all hell break loose…

_Unfreeze…_

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**Mwahahaha... Another cliffie!! XD You probably all hate me now.... *hides in corner* Until next week!!**


	7. And All Hell Breaks Loose

**HAPPY APRIL FOOLS DAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!**

**I feel deliciously evil at the moment, yet you all chuckled a little bit right? Please don't hate me.... I'm giving you a chapter early after all... Hell, I might even give y'all your weekly chapter tomorrow too. ^_^**

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**CrossWrolds ~ Seven ~ And All Hell Breaks Loose**

As soon as I thought that magical thought several things happened in rapid succession. The first thing I noticed was that Itachi vanished, but that was probably due to the fact that he was the one I had been looking at last.

I snapped my eyes back to Sasuke in time to see him do a beautiful face plant. I schooled my face to shock to avoid laughing out loud, but I had no doubt that it would be read in my eyes. Sasuke quickly picked himself up and scanned the around with blazing Sharingan eyes.

They finally settled on mine as he glared at me. I carefully kept my face shocked for a moment before my mouth twisted in an attempt at not smiling, but I couldn't do it and started laughing. Laughing very loudly, and hard enough that I held my stomach from the pain of my recent bruises.

Looking back up as Sasuke I offered a cheeky grin and panted a fist on my hip while giving him my most superior, down-the-nose look, "That was simply _beautiful _Sasuke. I must say I am decidedly… Unimpressed."

Would you believe he actually growled at me before he spoke, "Where. Is. Itachi?"

I snorted, my mood had improved a great deal and I felt like playing, "Not here."

I'm a total jerk when I want to be. My friends always know I'm playing at being a jerk and when I'm not as I resort to Power Words when I stop. Brittany never figured that part out though…

"He did not handsign to teleport. _What do you do?_"Sasuke all but snarled at me.

_Shit. He knows something… Well duh he's Sasuke Uchiha he's got a brain somewhere… Possibly at home in a jar… _A little voice in my head told me. I blinked at him and let my 'clueless' mask fall into place. I can act when I want to.

"Huh?" I asked.

The sound was barely out of my mouth before Sasuke's blade met Kisame's. The shark nin chuckled darkly, "Easy there kid. Ali's not even a ninja, how would she know?"

Kisame knew something too. They all probably did, but it seemed as if I had the Akatsuki on my side at least. A brief image of me standing in the position of leader over all of them briefly flashed though my mind and I again had to work at keeping my face carefully blank.

"She knows something" Sasuke spat as he jumped back and sheathed his sword.

I had firmly decided on being a jerk as I answered, "Well duh Uchiha. Everyone knows _something_ if they didn't they'd be brain dead."

I leaned around Kisame and winked with a playful grin as Sasuke glared back, seething. My face lost my smile then as I stepped back into view, "Listen Sasuke. This isn't your world, you don't know the rules. That's where you need me, that where _all_ of you need me. I may not know how yet, but I know I can help you. This isn't a place for a great ninja battles, fight Itachi on your own time when you get home."

"And what puts you in charge little girl?" Orochimaru hissed.

I turned around to face him very slowly. The 'little girl' addressing was getting old and I'm sure they could now sense my growing irritation bordering anger, "Because this is _my_ world, _my _property, _my_ rules. Here I am Queen Bitch and that's final."

For extra effect I had curled my lip slightly and made a face that made me look like I really would jump up and rip somebody's throat out. I do actually bite if the situation calls for it, I had bitten someone before to get out of a headlock, hard enough to draw blood.

Then I offered my nastiest feral grin and added on, "Plus to the fact that most of the people here want to kill you means that you're outnumbered Snake-Man."

Orochimaru didn't look at all happy with that statement and settle for glaring at me. I sighed and ran a hand over my hair as I thought. I glanced around at the assembled ninja and felt the rising tension.

"She is right Orochimaru. Of all people to be bested by" Jiraiya chuckled, shaking his head, "I did not think a little girl could do it."

I growled at Jiraiya and he turned just right so I kicked him in the balls rather than the leg, "What the hell is up with calling me a fucking little girl?" I snarled, not unhappy that I had gotten his nuts rather than leg, "I will be fucking eighteen in two damn weeks!! Enough with calling me a fucking little girl!!"

There was a stunned silence as Jiraiya clutched himself in a half crouch while giving me a stunned stare, "Nice kick g- Ali." He corrected himself with a sheepish grin. I hadn't used a lot of force, so he wasn't hurt that bad.

I glared around, little things like that set me off, "Can all of you get along under one roof and act like you might be mature adults rather than kids on a playground? I need to get started on dinner if I keep getting more mouths to feed."

"I will behave" Jiraiya promised with a hand on his heart, it seemed I'd gotten the old perv's respect. Seemed being the key word…

I cast a sidewise look at Pein and arched an eyebrow as I waited. I knew he wasn't really in charge, but they didn't need to know that I knew that. Pein was silent for a long moment, probably waiting for a signal from Madara, "We will not fight."

I glared at Sasuke next, "Well kiddo?"

I'd said that just to annoy him and it worked as his eyes narrowed at me. He opened his mouth, probably to tell me off with Orochimaru interrupted, "Neither of us will fight either."

"Even with Itachi?" I asked Sasuke, ignoring Orochimaru.

Sasuke glared at me for a long, long moment and I glared right back not breaking eye contact. Sasuke finally sighed and looked away, "Even with Itachi. Just don't call me kiddo."

I grinned, I'd won the subconscious dominance battle too, "Good. Now come on and I'll feed you guys."

Itachi reappeared from where ever he'd been in to fall in with the rest of the Akatsuki as I led the way back to the house. I could feel a certain Toad Sage's gaze on a place I'd rather not have watched…

"Jiraiya" I growled out, "If you don't stop looking at my ass I'm going to come back and kick yours…"

"Heh. It's-"

I cut him off, "If you say research I'm kicking you in the balls again and I'll use force this time." I hadn't played soccer for nothing.

I heard Hidan laughing and several other chuckles ranging around fallowed by Deidara speaking, "Wow, un. Remind me not to get you mad Ali-san."

"Honey," I began, "You haven't even seen the tip of the ice burg. When I get mad, you'll know it." I offered a wolfish grin over my shoulder, "I send people screaming into the night…"

I felt the tension rise again and mentally groaned as I sighed aloud, "That was a joke!"

"Tobi thinks Ali-chan's sense of humor is very morbid" Madara said, his voice surprisingly thoughtful.

I giggled, "You don't know half of what goes on in my head. You probably wouldn't want to either though…"

We'd arrived at my house. I blinked as I noticed a small scrap of humanity sitting on my porch swing with knees drawn up to her chest and her forehead resting on them and arms wrapped around her head and neck. It looked most like someone in a tornado drill at school.

I blinked, _"Audrey?"_

A pair of teary, frightened blue eyes met mine. There was blood on her face among several bruises. She sobbed and lurked shakily to her feet as I hurled myself onto the porch. She stumbled once before wailing and hurling herself onto me. Her arms went around my neck as she buried her face in the crook of my neck and started sobbing.

I sagged a moment under her weight before picking her up as I would a child, one arm under her bottom while reaching for the door with the other. I turned to find Jiraiya holding the door open while looking questioningly at Audrey.

I nodded in thanks and strode straight into the kitchen. I set her up on the counter and grabbing the nearest towel I wet it and went to work cleaning off her face. I focused completely on the task to control my rising anger.

All the blood turned out to be from a split lip, split eyebrow, and from where someone had gotten her in the nose. Both eyes were going to be black along with most of the left side of her face. Stepping back slightly I noted bruises on her arms in the shape of hand prints on her upper arms and around her neck.

Someone had done a number on her and that someone was going to pay…

There wasn't much else I could do except give her a tissue to blow her nose with and a glass of water. I was angry. Oh so very angry. I had a _very_ good idea who had done this to Audrey. It was to her tastes and right down her alley.

"Audrey…" I said quietly but firmly, she looked at me and flinched. She knew I was angry and she knew I knew who had beat the snot out of her. She knew I'd get revenge, "Who did this?"

She looked down. Audrey knew me well, she knew that after the previous fight that my fuse was short. I may not have much of a temper, but under my humor and sarcasm I have a black monster of a temper and the quickest way to my temper is to hurt someone I care about. My one weakness.

_Besides chocolate… And ice cream… And coffee… And Mt. Dew… Hell can't I ever stay on track?_

"Brittany…" Audrey whispered. Snapping me out of my thoughts as the tears started rolling down her cheeks, "A-Ali I-I'm s-s-so s-sorry!!" She sobbed as her face crumpled, "I was st-stupid!! I was walking home from school when they pulled up!! They didn't act like they were up to anything when J-Josh grabbed me from behind!! Then… Then…"

She hiccupped and sobbed then opened her mouth to continue when I placed a finger on her lips and frowned. I was near boiling now from my suppressed anger, "It's not your fault. It's mine." I sighed and let my hand drop, "I expected her to try something dirty. I _knew_ she'd go after someone else to get to me."

I growled and shifted my weight. I'd broken rule two: _'Never leave a weakness open.'_

_Yet I'm showing a bunch of ninja who'd _love_ to pump me for information my biggest weakness… Smart Ali, real smart…_ I was angrier at myself now, but I still intended to give Brittany hell tomorrow. Tomorrow was Friday too… Hmm…

"Ali…" Audrey began. I looked up, but she wasn't looking at me. She was looking at my houseguests...

_Shit._

"Yes Kitty-Girl?" I answered with a sigh. I knew a torrent of questions was coming.

"Why are there a bunch of people dressed up like Naruto characters in your house?" She seemed to have momentarily forgotten about her pain and had even dried her eyes with another tissue. She smiled weakly at me, "The Itachi is cute…"

Audrey had a huge crushes on Gaara, Neji, and Itachi…

I sighed and moved back to lean against the counter beside the dishwasher on the opposite side of the kitchen and smiled tiredly at Audrey. My day was catching up with me…

"It's a long story…" I began with a tired warning note in my voice.

She rolled her eyes, "Do you have a date with a secret boyfriend you haven't told me about yet?"

I chuckled and grinned at her, "I'm _so_ glad you haven't lost your sense of humor. Imagine how worried I'd be if you had, but no."

"Then what else do we have to do?" She asked while batting her eyes at me with a flirty look. Audrey doesn't swing that way, but her playfulness does get me.

I groaned at her and shook my head as I grinned, "Point to you even if you're fightin' dirty… Where do you want me to start?"

She rolled her eyes at me, then winced in pain before answering, "At the beginning of course."

I sighed and began.

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**I expect 3-D Audrey to get an account on here soon, so y'all better brace yourselves. She's playing a key part in my plot for the time being and some of my other 3-D friends are also going to star in a couple upcoming chapters. ^_^**

**Any way, thank you to everyone who was a part of my master prank for this year, please read and review!!**

**XOXOXOXO**


	8. Plans, Pizzia, and Pirates

**Happy Thursday!! XD**

**It's 12:24 in the morning for me and I can't sleep so I'm keeping all of my lovely readers happy by posting a chapter really early...**

**Any way, has everyone fogiven me for April Fool's Day yet? I found it hugely entertaining myself since it was my one prank the whole day...**

**Also go check out my poll on my profile, I want to know whether you guys want me to leave the April Fool's Day chapter in or take it out. I'll probably look at the votes Saturday, but I kinda wanna leave it in for future readers to my story... I changed the title to it too... XD**

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**CrossWorlds ~ Part One ~ The Beginning ~ Chapter Eight ~ Plans, Pizza, and Pirates**

I sighed and blew a few stray hairs out of my face as I organized my thoughts and decided what to leave out when Audrey interrupted me, "I know that look Ali. Don't leave anything out."

I glared at her and grumbled a few Power Words under my breath. I needed help at the moment… Someone who could give me some _helpful_ advice… Someone like…

I blinked and reached for my newfound Power, or at least what I _hoped_ was my newfound Power. I poured my will into the forming order:

_**Stop.**_

And it _worked_!! I noted that no one blinked, no one moved, no one even breathed.

"_Kasugami?" _I asked hesitantly.

"_**Yes little one?" **_The ram's voice replied though I knew he wasn't here with me.

"_Um. I have sort of a problem here… My friend stumbled onto my guests and it would have been better if she _hadn't_ found out… I don't know what to do…" _I trailed off while desperately hoping I wasn't over stepping my bounds in asking him for help.

"_**You have a very unique situation little one. One that **_**you**_** must find a solution too. I am sorry" **_Kasugami sounded genuinely sorry as his presence faded from my mind.

I sighed as I considered my options. I didn't want to lie to Audrey and I was sure she would know if I did…

_The truth is always best. _I decided, _Things will work themselves out and Audrey can keep a secret._

_**Okay you can… Go now.**_

I released my hold on time and watched Audrey blink. I frowned at her a tapped my foot on the tiles on the floor as I thought, "Okay… Things started on Tuesday when we had the half-day. I came home grabbed some stuff and headed back to the Wreck. I was drawing when I started hearing people talking… Or rather swearing." I grinned at Hidan who grinned back.

"So you investigated and found a bunch of cosplayers on your property!?" Audrey asked with a mix of awe and outrage.

I shook my head, "You're getting ahead of things… I investigated and I find five people I assume to be cosplayers on my property. I was hiding behind a tree watching Itachi, Kisame, Hidan and Kakuzu at the bottom of the bluff that south of the bluff… Yes Audrey?"

I paused as Audrey raised her hand as if she were in a classroom at school before asking, "Which ones are Kakuzu and Hidan?"

"I forgot you're not as far along as me…" I murmured before continuing in a normal tone, "Kakuzu is the tall one with the mask, Hidan is his partner without a shirt on under his cloak with the silver hair."

Audrey finally took note of Hidan not having a shirt and I swear if we'd been in the anime she'd have had a nose bleed…

She nodded her understanding and I continued, "I listened for a moment before Zetsu found out I was watching. We had a couple touchy moments while I explained things before I brought them home. I fed them tacos with hot sauce-"

"Which were fucking _hot!!" _Hidan snarled at me.

Audrey giggled at him and nodded, "Ali likes spicy and hot food."

I rolled my eyes at them, "They slept in the guest room. I went to school and got in a fight, which you know about. I come home and find Pein, Konan, Deidara, and Tobi" I pointed to each one for Audrey's benefit, "Have joined my little group. I feed them hamburgers and we watch and NCIS marathon and fell asleep on the couch, which is why I was late to school."

I left out the juicy little tidbit that I feel asleep on _Kisame_ who Audrey _knew_ I had a crush on and would do her best to play matchmaker. I also left out the part about my weird dreams. I was going to leave out the part about my new superpowers too. That was staying between me and Itachi.

"I come home today grumpy from dealing with the Prep Posse all day and I left all my stuff back at the Wreck on Tuesday. Naturally I had to go get it and I find Jiraiya, Orochimaru, and Sasuke. We're doing fine until Avenger Boy sees his brother and we almost have a great ninja battle but Itachi does the transportation thingy to somewhere, Sasuke trips and falls flat on his face, and after some conversation things work out and we come back to find you."

I thought I'd done a pretty good job of summing things up. Audrey had fallowed it, so I was happy but then the part I'd denied the very first day was hitting her. She didn't want to accept that they were real.

"So you're letting a bunch of cosplayers stay at your house?" Audrey asked, grinning slowly as if this were a very good joke.

I shook my head at her and sighed, "They're not cosplayers dear."

Her smile faded slightly as her eyebrows knit together slightly in confusion, "Then what…?"

I smiled gently at her, "Brace yourself Audrey. They're real."

Audrey was already shaking her head in denial, but I could see the warring thoughts in her eyes, "Impossible…"

I sighed at the uncertainly in her voice. I frowned at her and raised one eyebrow at her, "Have I ever lied to you?"

Audrey paused a moment as that sunk in and she turned wide eyes to my guests then back to me, "How…?"

I shrugged at her shock and smiled slightly, "Don't know."

She pouted at me in typical Audrey fashion as I grinned in return, "That's not fair Ali."

"That's life for you" I grinned and refrained from using my usual saying based on my audience.

"So what do with her, un? We can't let he go tell everyone about us, un" Deidara asked while eyeing Audrey a bit suspiciously.

Audrey stuck her tongue out at him as I laughed. She opened her mouth to snap at him when I interrupted, "But she won't" She looked back at me with a look on her face that made me think of a cat about to hiss, "She's staying here tonight and-"

"What!?" Audrey interrupted as she slid down from the counter and glared up at me, "But, they… They're…"

She looked back and forth between me and my guests, sending me the silent message of 'They're super villains and a big pervert!! I'm not staying in the same house with them!!'

I went on as if she hadn't said anything, "And I don't know if I'm letting you go to school tomorrow. Brittany's going to be worse than normal, I plan on doing something about that and you'd be in my way."

Audrey scowled mulishly at me, preparing to argue and defend herself when I interrupted her again, "Audrey, you have as much fighting ability as a kitten."

"Probably less" Hidan put in, sneering, "She looks to damn soft to be much…"

Audrey actually hissed at him and I sat back to watch the fireworks, "I'll show you soft!!" She spat, "I'll sick Ali on you and let her pry your eyes out with a spork!! Then I'll beat you with a baseball bat and sick Ali's dog on you!!"

I snorted and played along, "Sorry Kitty-Girl" I answered, winking at Hidan to let him know I was playing, "I'm fresh out of sporks, you can use the ice cream scoop though."

I am rather bloody minded at times although I rarely let that monster out of its cage. I sighed and got back to business, "If you do go to school me and the gang are taking shifts keeping an eye on you. Don't argue, they're at least big enough to hold their own while you yell for help."

She pouted at me, but didn't say anything. I held her eyes until she looked away, subconsciously establishing my dominance. I straightened from my leaning position and glanced at the clock.

_7:58 Looks like a frozen pizza night…_

"I guess I'm feeding you guys frozen pizza tonight" I sighed, I liked pizza as well as anyone but I wasn't really in the mood for it, yet there wasn't time for me to fix much else. I stepped forward, me guests parted for me as I made my way downstairs.

I rummaged around in our monstrous freezer until I came up with a total of four frozen pizzas. I sighed as I started up the stairs, these guys were going to eat me out of house and home!!

I found the Akatsuki sprawled out in various positions on the living room furniture flipping through the channels. I sighed and set the pizzas down and rummaged through the DVDs on the shelf beside the TV.

"What're you doing?" Kisame asked as he crouched beside me. I was a bit startled by his sudden nearness, but I controlled my jump as I paused to halfway face him.

"Looking for a movie you guys will like since there's nothing on TV." I replied with a gesture at the collection of DVDs. I was debating between Shrek, Pitch Black, The Boondock Saints, and the first Pirates of the Caribbean.

All of them were favorites of mine and I pulled them off the shelf and set them out for them to see, "Which one?"

They examined the covers from where they sat when Hidan pointed at The Boondock Saints, "What's that one about?"

I grinned, it had been an early birthday present, "Two Irish brothers who kill people in our world for God. It's entertaining and you'll be appreciative of their language Hidan."

"And that one?" Itachi pointed at Pitch Black.

"It's science fiction. Some people get stranded on a desert planet with three suns. They get stuck in an eclipse and get attacked by monsters in the dark." I answered. I didn't do the movie a lot of justice with that description, but I didn't want to get too lengthy.

"What's this one?" Kisame asked while picking up Shrek.

"A comedy of a 'classic' fairy tale, but twisted since 'prince charming' is an ogre and his 'valiant' steed is a talking donkey while the princess has an enchantment on her." I grinned up at Kisame who was taller than me even when we were both sitting cross legged on the floor.

_Mrawr… I love tall guys… Eek! Stop thinking those thoughts! My job is to get them home, not to play out a fanfic!! Although Itachi does look smexy without his cloak on… Ugh. Bad thoughts. Bad thoughts. Bad thoughts…_

I fought to keep my face normal. It would be _so_ embarrassing if they even suspected about anime crushes, let alone who I had them on!

Kisame put the movie down with a slightly disgusted look on his face. Apparently they weren't into fairy tales… I grinned at his expression and picked up the Pirates of the Caribbean.

"This one's pretty good. It-" I was cut off my Audrey's squeal of joy as she sighted us in the living room.

_Shit._

"Aww!" Audrey cooed as she laced her fingers together and held them against her chest and swooned, "Ali you and Kisame look so cute together!!"

I don't know who was more embarrassed, me or Kisame. I was beat red and he was a dark purple as we glanced at each other before swiftly looking the other way. I cleared my throat as Kisame coughed and we moved slightly away from each other.

"Pirates it is then" I told the room before Hidan roared with laughter, Deidara was laughing as well and I noted several of my other guests were laughing as well. I ignored it as I popped open the DVD play and put the disc in.

Changing the TV's channel I let the movie start playing as I headed for the kitchen to put the pizzas in the oven. Audrey skipped after me looking like a cat in cream, I was pointedly ignoring her for the moment as I put the first two pizzas in.

"Aww… Don't be mad Ali" Audrey pleaded playfully, "You two really are really cute together… "She lowered her voice to a whisper and leaned to my ear, "As long as you leave Itachi for me…"

I growled and wacked her in the back of the head. It wasn't particularly hard for me, but I wasn't all that gentle either before I spoke my earlier thought, "My job is to get them home, not to play out a fanfic in my house. Besides, "I offered a slightly bitter smile and lowered my voice, "I highly doubt any of them are interested in me. Except Jiraiya, and he doesn't count."

_I also have to figure out my new super powers…_ I'd never had a boyfriend, most boys my age were stupid any way.

The first two pizzas were done so I put them on the table with a paper towel and a glass of water at each place on the table, "Dig in while I put the other two in."

They did just that while staring intently at the TV as Captain Jack sailed in. Orochimaru and Sasuke appeared from the sun room and took seats slightly apart from the Akatsuki as they all watched Audrey dig into her pizza and copy how she ate.

I smiled and walked into the kitchen to put the other two pizzas in the oven. I leaned against the lip of counter in front of the sink and stared out the window at my darkening front yard as my thoughts swirled.

What was I going to do with my growing number of guests? Would more show up? How was I going to face Brittany tomorrow? Where was everyone going to sleep? How was I going to keep them from fighting while I was at school?

"You look frustrated" I jumped at Jiraiya's sudden appearance and glared at him a moment before sighing.

"Wouldn't you if say, you were in the middle of a war and a bunch of people from another world were dropped into your lap? And those people knew nothing about your world and you had to take care of them?" I asked.

He didn't say anything for a long moment as he stared at me before closing his eyes and nodding.

I took note of the subconscious dominance contest I'd just won as I served the rest of the pizza. I sat down and pointed at addressed my guests, "Orochimaru and Sasuke are sleeping in the guest room, Jiraiya gets the living room couch, and the Akatsuki get the basement. Audrey's with me."

I stood up and yawned, "Dishes in the sink. I'm taking a shower then going to bed. Audrey, you're taking one after me. The rest of you _peacefully_ take turns after that. If the hot water runs out, you can take one tomorrow sometime. Goodnight."

I got into the shower and let my cares flow away. I was fast so they didn't stay away for long, but I was tired enough I was asleep the moment my head hit the pillow.

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**Audrey would really do that to me too... .**

**Also Kisame's blue skin+Red blush=A purple Kisame...**

**Reviews make me happy!!**


	9. More Plans and Conclusions

****

So I'm kinda disappointed in some of my readers. I recieved... Five reviews I think and one of those was from 3-D Audrey while I read over her shoulder and put comments in it. The chapter before last had eight reviews...

But thank you to those of you who have stuck with me since the very beginning, you guys are amazing 3:

Mika and Sukira

Kay-87

Liliedove

I would also like to thank the kraken is my pet for pointing out Sasuke's submissive-ness, but that's why this is a fanfic right? ~_^

I also thank Demented Cloud for the very, very amusing threats and for not carrying them out. XD

And finally to Audrey the KittyGirl who is now part of the FanFiction community!! She left a review on the last chapter and I put comments in at as I read it over her shoulder!! She is also extremely happy to know how much you guys love her so go message her!! XD

**CrossWorlds ~ Part One ~ The Beginning ~ Nine ~ More Plans and Conclusions**

I jerked awake to find myself drenched in sweat and feeling as if I'd just run a race. I sat up panting raggedly, by softly as I looked at the clock on my nightstand…

_3:11 Well shit…_

I glanced over my shoulder at the slumbering form of Audrey and grinned to myself. The girl slept like a rock. I normally did too, but these damn dreams that I couldn't even remember were denying me a good night's sleep.

I already knew I wouldn't be able to fall back asleep. I'd only woken up once and I was irritated enough with myself that I wouldn't be able to fall back asleep. I sighed in defeat and let my head droop. What was I going to do with myself for three hours until I needed to get ready for school?

Normally I would get online and read the latest Naruto chapter, if there weren't any of those I'd get on a couple of fanfiction sites and read stories other people had written. Sometimes I'd write my own, but of course with my particular house guests neither of those were an option.

I stood up carefully to avoid waking Audrey. She stirred ever so slightly, but didn't wake as I stepped onto the floor and padded to the door and silently exited. Shutting the door just as silently, I paced slowly down the hall and stairs.

I padded into the kitchen and opened the refrigerator. Settling onto the balls of my feet in a crouch I rested my elbows on my knees as I looked over its contents. There wasn't much to choose from and I made a mental note to go shopping Saturday.

I pulled open the bottom drawer and picked through the fruit there. I selected an apple and fingered it a moment before putting it back and shutting the drawer. I wasn't really hungry, but eating passed the time and made me feel better about myself.

Standing up I shut the door and sighed.

I was almost awake enough that my brain was starting to work. Meaning that my worry and frustration were surging back at full force.

_I know _why_ they appeared to _me _specifically, but I don't know why _now_… Then there is the small detail that they're all S-Ranked _criminals _and a really BIG pervert, even if they're my favorite characters if they felt like it they could _kill _me!!_

Yet they hadn't… Which was weird since Itachi could just use his Sharingan or Pein could use his one look alike to rip my soul out of my body and read my mind…

I wandered over to the back door and stared out over my yard. I fallowed my sudden impulse and opened the door to step outside. Shutting the door silently behind me I sucked in my first delicious breath of cool night air.

I let the breath out in a sigh and wandered forward until I could sit down on the back steps and leaned my shoulder against the railing. I stared unblinkingly at my yard that had turned silvery in the moonlight.

I cleared my mind and let myself drift into the meditative state I had been making for it for years since I began my karate classes. I felt my muscles loosen and relax, but not fully. The pain from my bruises kept me from fully calming myself.

Thus I unconsciously focused on that pain which led to other thoughts…

_What am I going to do about Audrey? It won't take them long to figure out that she's my biggest weakness… Brittany already knows that and she'll use her to get to me because she doesn't have the guts to face me herself…_

My shoulders began slowly tightening as my thoughts became more and more turbulent…

_I may not be able to do anything about the Akatsuki knowing about Audrey, but there may be something I can do able Brittany… Audrey's going to hate me for it though and I can't tell her the truth because she'll give herself away… Damn._

My eyes became slightly lidded as my thoughts turned for the worse. I was simply going to have to play grumpy bitch tomorrow and wait for the right opportunity to bite her head off bad enough that she'd be mad enough at me to stop talking to me… For a while at least.

I'd also have to make sure that our 'argument' was very public… I drooped and I knew I drooped. I lowered my head and hunched my shoulders as I crossed my arms against my stomach.

I knew what I was going to have to do to Audrey and I was already filled with self-loathing. The rest of my friends would be pissed at me too, but they'd probably cool off over the weekend and I could explain everything to them at school Monday.

Hell, they might even forgive me…

"You're up early…" A voice commented as the speaker sat down on the steps beside me. It turned out to be Jiraiya after I looked and I offered a sad smile in response, but didn't say anything.

I knew from the series that the old perv could probably give some good advice, but I'm too stubborn to ask people for help. I even avoid letting people _know_ about my problems if I can help it.

I'm not perfect. I admit that. It's a personal vendetta I have with letting people _in._ Audrey doesn't even know my darkest, most violent thoughts. I don't let her, or anyone else get that close… I'm afraid to….

I've never figured truly figured out where that fear comes from, but I think it comes from me feeling like my parents rejected me by going away. That they don't care about me, I don't see them enough to know whether or not they really do care…

I had Granma of course, but it's just not the same as knowing your blood parents love and care about you. Granma filled that gap to a point, yet when she was killed it left a hole in me… A hole that is still empty…

"I couldn't sleep" I finally told the old Sage.

I got a grunt in reply and smiled to myself. For whatever reason I found Jiraiya's presence comforting, since he wasn't being a pervert, and that cheered me ever so slightly. Finding that little bit of comfort helped me more than I could explain to even myself, but I felt better at least.

"Did I wake you?" I asked after a few moments of silence as I continued to look over my yard.

Jiraiya grunted again and I pictured him crossing his arms at this point. Glancing at him out of the corner of my eye I smiled when I found I'd been right. He was leaning against the railing on the opposite side of the steps staring over the yard as I was.

"Then again, my house is full of ninja so the whole house is probably awake besides Audrey…" I grinned. Somehow waking the whole house up and probably making them grouchy made me feel better yet.

I guessed it to be one of those weird deals where, when one person felt hurt they wanted to make others feel their pain…

_Well shit, now I sound like Pein… Of course I understood where he was coming from in the first place even if I don't entirely agree with it…_

Jiraiya actually chuckled at that and turned to look at me with a grin. I grinned back as I watched him from the corner of my eye. My thoughts were still going about a thousand miles a minute so I was being paranoid, but without the nervousness or bitchy attitude.

Being outside at night has always had a calming effect on me. Unlike most people I actually _like_ the dark. I also _love_ storms. If the lightning isn't too bad I'll even go wander around outside in the rain if it's warm enough.

Fog is nice too. I know a lot of people find it depressing, but I find it relaxing. Especially when it's really, really thick and they delay school until it burns off. Fog makes me feel like the world's wrapped in a soft blanket and it's just me and the world and for a little while the world is _mine._

It's crazy right? I've never denied that I'm weird or crazy. When someone comes out and calls me crazy I usually give them my best 'are you as dumb as you look' look and respond with something along the lines of 'are you just now figuring that out?' or 'wow, took you long enough to figure that out genius!' or my personal favorite, 'I'm not crazy! My reality is just different from yours!' I grin insanely when I use that last one.

People usually edge away slowly after that.

"You're taking to the fact that you have people from another world living with you in your house surprisingly well…" Jiraiya began. He trailed off, wanting an explanation.

I hate it when people do that and was tempted to simply remain silent and give him a blank look, but decided to play nice for the time being as I shrugged, "I suppose so, but what else would I do? Turn you over to the police?" I snorted, "They'd haul us all off to some top secret laboratory to try to figure out how you got here and how I'm connected. Then when they decided they couldn't learn any more from us alive they'd kill us and pick over our bodies to find out more."

I looked up at him then and noted the rather stunned look he was wearing. I smiled slightly at him and shrugged again, "I don't have a lot of friends. I spend a lot of my time reading, which is why I know so much about your world, but I read other things too. I've read about enough about other peoples' surprises that I rarely have my own. Plus I adapt fairly well. I'm more twitchy about the whole girl-war at school that having all of you here."

He digested that for several minutes. I looked back over the yard and left him to it. I'd already guessed several of his next questions and was preparing answers for them. As I looked over the misty yard, my mind started to wander and I briefly wondered if the Easter Flowers would be blooming soon...

It was getting pretty close to time for them to come up, which meant that the whole woods around the Wreck would be covered with yellow flowers. Easter Flowers, or Narcissus as most people called them were one of my favorites. I always made sure to pick some and set them in every room of my house to make it smell nice…

"Why does this 'girl-war' upset you more?" Jiraiya finally asked. I pulled myself out of my brief flower obsession and blinked as I thought about it with my head slightly tilted to one side.

"Mmm…" I answered first, "Mostly because I'm betting you guys all want to know why you appeared _here_ rather than somewhere else. Since _I'm _the one who found you I _must _have some sort of significance. I don't know why you came here, but I'd imagine if you stick around long enough we'll probably figure it out."

Jiraiya was staring at me with what looked like mild shock again. I felt my confidence level boost by several points at that, I felt pretty smug at my own intelligence. I stood up and stretched, covering a yawn with my hand.

My emotions had been turbulent enough that I'd worn myself out with the sudden changes back and forth between anger, happiness, contentment, grouchiness, and self-loathing…

The self-loathing brought my head back to how I was going to get rid of Audrey. They all really were going hate me after tomorrow, but at least Brittany and her pack would leave her and the other alone. Hell, maybe they'd get gutsy enough and come after me…

_And then I can get into a fight…_

Those thoughts lifted my spirits further as I moved towards the door with Jiraiya fallowing. I wanted to be a puzzle to my houseguests so they would underestimate me or at least not see me as a threat. I had to keep my new control over Time a secret.

I was suddenly worried about Itachi. What if the other Akatsuki figured out what was going on? What would happen to him then? And whatever it was, it would be all my fault…

_Pft. Get hold of yourself Ali. Itachi can take care of himself and I think Kisame is loyal to him before the Akatsuki. Then again I doubt Sasuke would allow the Akatsuki to kill Itachi since he wants to do it so badly himself…_

I eased my own fears as I opened the door and let myself back into my house with Jiraiya behind me. He shut the door gently behind him as we both got inside. I glanced up at the clock…

_4:13 Maybe I can catch another couple of hours sleep…_

I paused to grin up at Jiraiya, once I saw the time tiredness had hit me fairly suddenly, "I'm going to try to go back to sleep. My alarm goes off in a couple hours. I'll make everyone breakfast, then me and Audrey are off to school…" I yawned as I padded slowly back towards the stairs.

I paused and turned back to find Jiraiya watching me thoughtfully. I grinned sleepily at him, "Goodnight Pervy-Sage…"

He grunted and tried to look offended at me for using Naruto's nickname for him, but I could tell he was pleased by me being so familiar, "Goodnight Ali…"

I smiled without showing teeth before turning to slowly walk up the stairs to my room. I opened and shut the door as quietly as I could, but I knew the whole house was probably awake anyway and I didn't really care as I crawled back into bed…

* * *

**I think I made the time pass a little quickly, but this was mostly a filler chapter. For this story I'm mostly focusing on being inside Ali's head since this is written in first person, meaning I'll probably accidently leave out a few little details with the Naruto characters.**

**I would also like to inform everyone that only three more characters are going to appear probably within the next five chapters... Cookies to whoever guesses all three right!**

**And Audrey, you are not allowed to guess because I already told you who they are!**


	10. Breakfast at Ali's

**Thank you everyone for the wonderful reviews!! Can you imagine how excited I was when I logged into my email and had 13 new messages!! Thank you all so much!!**

**On a side note I'm getting a little panicy because I usually have all my chapters prewritten in advance and I only have one more chapter completed after this and I'm not entirely happy with it yet... Meaning I may go back and change it and it might be a tad bit late next week...**

**Another exciting aspect is that I created a forum for CrossWorlds!! I haven't gotten to tell Audrey about it as of yet since she's currently doing the state testing for juniors... But she will probably be VERY active on there, so go post on there!!**

**Note- The title is a modified version of 'Breakfast At Tiffany's.' Go watch it if you haven't seen it. It will make you a better person. :)**

* * *

**CrossWorlds ~ Part One ~ The Beginning ~ Ten ~ Breakfast At Ali's**

_*Beep Beep Beep*_

My eyes snapped open as soon as my alarm went off. A groan at my back fallowed by unintelligible muttering reminded me Audrey was here which led my thoughts to what a complete bitch I was going to have to be today…

_*Beep Beep Beep*_

_Stupid, hateful, no good, fucking son of bastard's bitch!! _I snarled mentally as I growled aloud.

_*Beep Beep Beep*_

I sat up and poked Audrey in the ribs, "Hey…" I began, "Hey Audrey… Wake up you silly sleep head…"

_*Beep Beep Beep*_

I poked her some more as she groaned, I'd used the opening line to 'Charlie on Candy Mountain' video from YouTube just for fun when I reminded myself I was supposed to be a grumpy bitch today…

_*Beep Beep Beep*_

"Damn clock…" I growled as I settle into bitch mode as I punched the off key with a little bit more force than necessary and turned the alarm off for tomorrow. If someone wakes me up early on Saturday they had better be dying or there had better be some damn good cartoons on…

I looked down at Audrey and felt a stab of guilt along with a wave of self-loathing…

_Great. I haven't done a damn thing yet and I already feel like shit…_

I quickly decided I could wait and find something to piss me off at school and send myself into rabid bitch mode. I poked Audrey some more when she didn't move, "C'mon Audrey, we're going to Candy Mountain…"

Audrey finally sat up and stared at me with her most amusing WTF? expression. I offered a slow grin and continued with my Charlie on Candy Mountain lines. I had an obsession with the first two YouTube episodes and the urge to use them struck me every so often… Like today.

"Come on Audrey," I continued in a rather bad impersonation of either the pink or purple unicorn, "We're going to be late to Candy Mountain Audrey..."

Audrey groaned and dropped her face into her hands, "Ali…" She protested.

I giggled and poked her in the side again, "C'mon Kitty-Girl," I answered, dropping the unicorn act, "Breakfast and your dreamboat are waiting!"

By dreamboat I meant Itachi…

She perked up at that and hurried to pull on her clothes. I chuckled and began pulling on my own clothes. I considered wearing my 'Candy Mountain' T-Shirt but decided I didn't want to chance ruining it in a fight and settled on a plain black tee and my high tops.

I pulled my hair into a high pony tail and left Audrey to get ready as I shut the door behind me. I paused and knocked on the guest bedroom door before turning the knob to crack the door so I wouldn't be yelling.

"Hey," I called, "Get up if you want any breakfast." I shut the door before they could reply and started downstairs.

I hadn't been very nice, but I figured my alarm clock had already woken them up and being as neither one of them were my favorite characters plus the rest of the household could overpower them I wasn't too worried about pissing them off.

Jumping the last three steps I landed with a solid thump meant to wake the Akatsuki in my basement up. Walking over to the back of the couch I leaned over to peer down at Jiraiya who blinked sleepily up at me.

I kept my gaze firmly on his face once I noted he wasn't wearing a shirt. I frowned at him with irritation, "Wait until I can't see you then go get dressed _in the bathroom_."

He smiled sheepishly as I made my way to the stairs. I walked down and stood at the bottom, I heard grunts and people shifting positions under blankets in the dark and found myself frowning again.

_Ninja must not be morning people…_

"Oi!" I snapped, "Get your lazy butts up and dressed!"

"We're fucking trying to sleep woman!" Hidan's voice snapped back.

I growled at him and glared in the direction his voice had come from, "Well then I guess you don't want breakfast then…"

I let my voice trail off suggestively as if I wasn't going to fix breakfast…

"You're feeding us?" What sounded like Pein asked.

I rolled my eyes, knowing they could probably see me even if I couldn't see them, "No. I'm going to let you starve to death," I answered with fake seriousness before continuing, "Yes I'm going to feed you! Get dressed and come upstairs. I'm going to lay some ground rules while everyone eats."

"Ground rules?" Kakuzu asked, sounding suspicious.

"Ground rules, just like I did yesterday," I agreed, "I really don't want to come home and find my house leveled by all of you having a great ninja battle."

"Tobi won't let them hurt Ali-chan's house!!" The orange masked Akatsuki member cried before wrapping me in a hug. I patted his shoulder awkwardly while giggling. When he didn't release me immediately I started squirming.

I like giving hugs and getting them, but the longer Madara held onto me the more I suspected he was up to something… How would I even _know_ if he put some tracking jutsu on me? Plus despite the fact that I probably knew more about him than anybody but Itachi did not mean that I _knew_ him.

I knew him from what I'd read about, but his personality was still a pretty big mystery. I knew his past and what his motives were, but I didn't know his personality. I knew he was highly intelligent, was really, really fast, and had been around since Konoha had been founded.

In short, I wouldn't stand a chance against him.

I had my newfound superpowers with Time, but what could I do with it against him? I didn't know the capabilities. If I stopped Time how far a radius did it stop? Or does everything stop? If I have some sort of radius what happens after I stop Time and move? Does the radius move with me?

_I need to talk to Kasugami about this later, but right now I have to fix breakfast for everyone…_

"Thanks Tobi" I smiled at him while still wiggling determinedly. I wanted _down._

"Put her down Tobi," Kisame said somewhat gruffly, "She can't fix us breakfast while you're holding her."

The rustle of cloth told me that they were getting dressed and I was glad the dark hid him. I didn't particularly _want _to see a bunch of naked musclely men, but didn't mean I wouldn't like it… I'm a real perv sometimes.

"Sorry Ali-chan!" Tobi told me as he set me back on my feet.

"No big," I answered, "Just come upstairs when you're decent. No running around naked. I'm going to start cooking…"

I trailed off as I climbed the stairs. I was a little shaken by being randomly hugged by Tobi/Madara, but not too badly.

Jiraiya was leaning against the wall fully dressed regarding me with an amused expression, "You're having fun waking us up aren't you?"

I grinned cheekily at him and winked slyly, "Of course. That's the great secret of life Jiraiya, to have fun with whatever you're doing no matter what," Then just because I was feeling playful at the moment I added, "Believe it!"

Jiraiya blinked at Naruto's trademark saying looking startled before he started laughing. I grinned and brushed past the laughing Sage and into the kitchen.

I almost ran smack into Sasuke and blinked slightly before looking up into his Sharingan gaze. I frowned and him and screwed my face up as I returned his glare with my own. We were both silent as Jiraiya got his laughter under control.

"You know," I began, "You're wearing your eyes out right?"

He blinked at me before narrowing his eyes slightly as he spoke softly, for my ears alone, "I'll keep them on until I figure out what you did."

I knew he was talking about the fight between him and Itachi, but I played dumb again as it seemed the fastest way to irritate the youngest Uchiha. So I put a dumb look on my face and went, "Huh?"

Sasuke _smiled_. It was more of s smirk, but he actually looked amused, "You've already shown me you have a mind. I won't underestimate you again Ali."

I grinned back as he stepped around me and moved to sit down at the dining room table. I felt suddenly smug as I realized he had broken eye contact first. I had won the subconscious dominate battle.

Grinning I opened the refrigerator and pulled out the eggs and bacon. Noting that there wasn't enough to feed everyone I pulled out pancake mix as well. I put two skillets and the griddle on the stove and put both eggs and bacon on.

I picked up the pancake mix next and started mixing them up as well. Once mixed, I poured out four pancakes on the griddle and moved on to the toaster. I plunked two pieces of bread in and returned to the stove.

I flipped the bacon and pancakes then started scrambling the eggs. I know different people like their eggs different ways, but scrambled eggs are the fastest and easiest. As an afterthought I got out the coffee maker and put some coffee on.

I put the first batch of bacon and pancakes on plates and covered them with a towel to keep them warm then started the next batch. I stirred the eggs, buttered the toast and put it on a plate with a towel over it.

I had begun humming while I worked, the song 'Tree Hugger' from the Juno soundtrack was stuck in my head. I put more toast in the toaster and started making orange juice. I returned and flipped the pancakes and bacon, stirred the eggs again, then began getting out plates and silverware.

I kept my routine until I had enough food to feed everyone. Turning around with the plates and silverware in my hands I discovered I had an audience. I blinked at the assembled ninja at the table watching me with varying levels of either amusement or boredom.

"You sure know your way around a kitchen, un." Deidara grinned at me.

I blinked and grinned back as I passed out plates. I took note of Audrey sitting across from Itachi on the end near my seat staring gooey-eyed at him. I winked with I caught Itachi's eye since he was doing his best to ignore my friend.

I smiled as I tossed a hotpad on the table for the eggs that I left in the skillet. Returning to the kitchen I picked up the skillet and the plate of bacon. I sat them down and went back for the pancakes and the maple syrup.

Another trip and I came back with the plate of toast along with strawberry, grape, and blackberry jelly along with a pot of honey on a plate for it. Back to the kitchen I grabbed the coffee pot in one hand after stuffing a hot pad in my pocket along with the pitcher of orange juice.

I set them down and went back to the kitchen yet again. I grabbed glasses and stacked them on another plate along with several coffee mugs. Balancing the plate on one hand I snagged the box of individual coffee sweetener and braced it on one hip while holding the creamer in my hand.

I set all of that down before taking a seat at the end of the table. My guest were still watching me with amusement as I poured myself a mug of coffee and put my sweetener and creamer in. Noticing their stares I arched one eyebrow as I took a sip of my coffee.

"What?" I asked, "I've worked as a waitress before. I can handle dishing out food."

I said a bit snappishly as I pulled a couple pancakes onto my plate. I also snagged a couple pieces of bacon and a piece of toast. A few chuckles went around the table as my guests dug into their food.

Glancing at Audrey I found her still staring at Itachi. I grimaced slightly before kicking her under the table…

"Hey!" She yelped as she jumped and glared at me, "What'd you do that for!?"

"Because you need to be eating something before they eat it all," I told her reasonably as I took a bite of my bacon.

"But Ali…" Audrey began glancing from me to Itachi.

"But nothing," I answered.

"Ali…" She whined again.

"No flirting at my kitchen table" I grumbled, causing Kisame, Hidan, and Deidara to roar with laughter.

She pouted at me before putting food on her plate. Audrey sulked by refusing to look at me the rest of the meal, but she still snuck several significant 'looks' at Itachi.

I stood up and put my dishes in the sink. Thank God for dishwashers, but the skillet at least would need to soak. Wandering back into the dining room I leaned on the back of my chair, "There are rules while I'm gone. First off, no jutsu. None. Second, no fighting. Third, don't leave the house unless to go back to the Wreck to hide in case someone shows up here. Fourth, don't make any huge messes."

I met eyes as I spoke, making sure they would take me seriously, "Think of it as… You're on a top secret mission and you can't risk being detected. Use your common sense. So no making bloody messes and stuff," There were nods around the table I smiled, "Good. Let's go Audrey."

We both grabbed our things, walked out the door, piled into my car, and off to school we went.

My dread and guilt were weighting more heavily on my mind the closer we got to school. All my friends were going to hate me after today…

But it was in the name of that stupid 'great good' crap that would keep them all safe…

And maybe get me a chance to fight Brittany face to face…

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**Okay, so this was a bit of a filler chapter...**

**I know. Audrey growled at me for it already... *grumbles***

**But I promise the next chapter will be _much_ more exciting and if I keep what I've written on the next one it will be even more exciting... *evil laughter***

**I also stayed up past _midnight_ to post this for my readers' enjoyment so I hope I get lots of reviews... *puppy eyes***


	11. One Step Closer

**Well, here ya go folks!**

**I'd like to mention that April is another of my friends from school, her username is Strawberry-Ringo, go check her out!! After you read this chapter of course...**

**GO INVESTIGATE MY FORUMS!!! There is a very, very important topic you guys need to discuss and let me know about that will affect the course of this story!!**

**Note: The chapter title comes from the song 'One Step Closer' by Linkin Park… I originally had chosen the title 'The Beast Stirs' and wasn't happy with it, but my iPod was on shuffle and 'One Step Closer' came on. A light bulb in my head winked on too and after tweaking the chapter a bit I changed the title and what you see is what happened. :)**

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**CrossWorlds ~ Part One ~ The Beginning ~ Chapter Eleven ~ One Step Closer**

Audrey was surprisingly quiet on the way to school. I noticed that only because I was more worried on how I was going to get her mad enough at me to stop talking to me for a while. Long enough for me to get Brittany and her prep posse to come after me and leave Audrey alone…

_Time to go into rabid bitch mode…_

I sighed mentally, but put on an irritated face and my voice was grumpy, "You do know enough not to tell anyone about them right?"

Audrey jerked and looked at me with wide eyes. I didn't look back at her but kept glaring at the road with a serious frown on my face. When I didn't get an instantaneous reply I scowled at the road and snapped slightly, "Right? I have enough problems protecting you from Brittany and her posse without have to worry about coming home and finding my house quarantined."

I was being especially harsh and I knew it and it made me absolutely hate myself.

Audrey looked at her knees while nodding. I could see her out of the corner of my eye and I could tell I'd been mean enough to ruffle her feathers. I'd have to do worst later to drive the point home though and I'd have to have an audience.

_That's right. Make them hate you. It can't get any worse than the shit you already put up with…_ A rather emoish voice grumbled in my head, but I secretly agreed to a point…

How much worse could it possibly _get_?

I have a groups of S-Class criminals, a evil psychopathic scientist, a big pervert, an emo kid who wants to kill me, and a high school girl war going on…

Nothing too big.

Phst. _Please._ The average girl my age worries about hair, makeup, and boys. Compared to them I've got a cakewalk!

I rarely give a damn what I look like. I've gone on a date _once _if you don't count going to another school's prom with the same guy… I was also set up and the relationship ended less than three days after the prom.

I mentally shuddered as I recalled my one and only ex. He called me no less than five times as day between 3:30 when I got out of school and roughly 9:30 when I told him I went to bed. He usually called more than five times though…

Isn't it the girls who're suppose to be clingy? He did the whole 'we can make this work' speech too. I never got to even fucking see the guy!!

He was a year older than me, a senior, and did not have a driver's license. What's even worse, _I _drove _him_ to the _prom_ and _I _took _him_ home. How pathetic is _that_?

I was purposely working myself up so I actually _would _be in rabid bitch mode. It's a scary thing to know I can do this to _myself_ but it's useful that I can control my emotions if I want to badly enough.

Usually the stakes aren't high enough that I hate to though…

"I didn't hear you" I snapped again after a couple minutes of silence, "Can you keep a promise to keep your mouth shut?"

_Bitch. Bitch. Bitch. You're such a bitch!!_ The nastier part of my subconscious chanted gleefully at me.

Yeah, here's the really scary part of me. I _like_ being a bitch sometimes. It keeps the meanest, nastiest part of my personality chained up in the darkest corner of my mind. As long as I fed it scarps every once in a while it stays there…

Probably…

Hopefully…

"I promise" Audrey mumbled to the dash.

I pushed the feelings of guilt and self-loathing aside. I couldn't afford to show them right now as I scowled more intensely as I parked the car in my assigned spot at school.

"Good" I answered curtly as I shut the engine off. I started gathering my things as Audrey got out of the car and took off across campus.

I couldn't see her face, but I knew there were tears in her eyes and I knew my friends were going to give me hell… And I would have to give it right back.

I shut my door with a little more force than necessary as I got out and locked my car. I heard a snicker from behind me, I didn't have to turn around to know who it was because I already knew…

I felt my inner monster twitching, craving Brittany's blood and violence. Several methods of causing Brittany pain and torture methods flashed through my head, some of them involving a metal spork… I squashed those thoughts quickly and reined my bloodthirsty side in as best I could. I couldn't risk letting the beast loose… Not yet.

I turned slowly to face Brittany and the rest of her posse and waited. She had skillfully covered the bruises on her face with makeup, though her right eye was a little swollen and red. She was wearing enough eye liner and mascara that it was pretty well hidden too.

Some people might think that loads of mascara and eye liner look good, but I think it just makes them look like scary raccoons… Or bad Barbie imitations on drugs in Brit's case.

"Oh good morning Ali," Brittany spoke in a sickly sweet voice, "Did you bring my paper for me this morning?"

_Still after that are we? Hmpf…_

"No," I answered shortly, not even playing at being nice like she was, "Your paper, your problem. It's not my fault you don't have enough brains cells to do anything but bang every guy in the school because you do so many drugs."

Her pretty face turned ugly at that and I offered a sneer in return. I was being nasty and from the slight flicker of Brittany's eyes I knew she knew it. She knew she pushing her luck and she knew it, she'd seen the monster on the loose before…

I frightened her. That satisfied the monster in the dark corner of my mind more than my imagination running wild with various forms of torture. Especially when she edged a little bit away from me, that pleased me greatly.

Brittany and I had been best friends before high school, she had seen me loose it before. Then having different class schedules caused us to drift apart, then at the beginning of my third year in high school we had too many classes together…

The resulting girl war had lasted the majority of that year. High school mellowed me out considerably, the beast hadn't made an appearance in a little over four years. We both knew what happened when I decided I'd had enough and fought back or someone pushed me to the breaking point…

When I fought back I might as well be a berserker, the adrenaline is strong enough I don't feel what damage I take until later and half the time I don't even know what I'm even _doing_ until everything is over and I can go back and think. Pushing the right buttons, like going after people I care about, pushes me right over an imaginary cliff and lets the beast loose.

"It's not my fault all you're good for is doing other people's work," She snapped back with a toss of her head, breaking eye contact. I already knew I was the more dominant of the two of us, but her looking away first made the monster happier and I felt it slipping away…

Amusement took the place of what had been rising anger.

"Ah," I answered, letting my eyes lid slightly, she was trying to get me riled up, but me showing her up was having the opposite effect, "Perhaps…" She looked smug for a moment, thinking she had won, "But at least I know how to work and, unlike yourself, I will move up in the world and won't have to spend the rest of my life living with my parents."

I smiled slowly, I already knew I had won. It was a low blow, but it was also the truth and the truth can hurt. Her jaw dropped and her eyes bulged, she suddenly looked like a freshly caught fish gasping for air.

I chuckled aloud at the mental image. She gave a low hiss as she snapped her mouth closed and sucked in air through clenched teeth, then opened her mouth slightly to speak when another voice cut her off.

"Shouldn't you kids be getting to class...?" Our principal asked mildly. Brittany looked at her first and I fallowed her gaze to the stately woman in a knee length skirt and business suit-like top. Her chestnut hair was starting to show a bit of gray, yet it didn't diminish her air of authority in the slightest.

Brittany met her eyes and looked away quickly, but I met her pale blue eyes until she looked at Brittany again who was fidgeting with nervousness. Our principal was known for suspending people before the trouble started rather than waiting for it to actually start. She also knew that Brittany was the real problem and that I wouldn't start something until she did.

"Sorry Ms. Smith, we were all just hanging out until class started," Brittany suddenly chirped, recovering enough to come up with an excuse. My mouth twisted with a smirk of amusement as I shouldered my back pack and hooked my purse strap over my other shoulder.

"Class starts in five minutes so I suggest all of you get moving," Ms. Smith answered with resignation. She knew she couldn't do anything right now, but she knew the trouble was coming and was watching for the signs.

She hadn't been able to catch the people who jumped me and hadn't been able to do anything, but she knew from over twenty years experience that it would get worse before it got better. I flashed Brittany a knowing smirk before turning and wandering off to class.

I was about halfway there when my cell phone vibrated in my pocket. I gave a slight smile as I took it out and opened it,

_New message from: Whore-Bitch_

I gave a dark chuckle and hit the 'OK' button to open the message.

_This isnt over._

I chuckled again and the unoriginal line and hit 'OK' again to reply.

_Not by a long shot. Just let me know when ur ready 2 give up._

I was being a bitch, but I decided it was past time I put Brittany in her place and reminded her why she didn't want to tick me off. I walked into class as the bell rang and took my seat in the back of the room.

My phone vibrated again and I discreetly pulled it to check it. I kept my face carefully blank as I saw Brittany's reply.

_U r going 2 b srry…_

I wanted to laugh out loud as Mr. Robinson started telling us about the World War One. How Europe called it The Great War and other facts. I paid very little attention, the tests are open-book and a piece of cake besides that.

I kept an ear on him and listened for where he was in the room to know whether or not he could see my phone as I replied to Brittany

_Keep telling urself that. It might come true… N ur dreams._

She either got caught with her phone or didn't have a comeback since I didn't get another text message, but I did get a note…

_Why did you make Audrey cry? What's going on?_

I mentally sighed and looked over at our friend April who glared at me for a moment before going back to her notes. I sighed and wrote out a reply.

_Brittany's going on. I did that to Audrey so Brittany would think we were mad at each other and come after me instead of going after her._

I replied and passed the note back using the same route it had been sent only backwards. I watched her out of the corner of my eye she turned and regarded me stonily for a long moment before giving a short nod. A reply came a moment later.

_I don't like it but I won't tell her until Monday. It was me her took her to your house, but I couldn't stay because my mother wanted me home._

I nodded back, but didn't write a reply. There wasn't much else to say. April would tell the others secretly and they would keep this from Audrey until Monday at least. That would keep her safe from the likes of Brittany for a while at least. I had played this number on Audrey before so they knew I was trying to protect her.

Something wasn't right though…

It wasn't like Brittany to not find _some_ way to come up with a comeback. If her cell phone had gotten taken away she would have used someone else's…

I narrowed my eyes slightly as I turned that thought over in my head. I had a suspicion that she was planning something. If I had a tail the tip would have been flicking, and the beast twitched slightly.

That part of me didn't want to wait for trouble to come, it wanted to go _make_ trouble. To make sure that the problem wouldn't be able to make trouble that it wouldn't be able to handle.

_Pft. Come on, I already have Naruto characters living in my house. How much more trouble can come my way?_

I should learn not to jinx myself… Trouble just won't stop appearing...

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**On a Second Note: The prom story is true... It happened... To me... Fairly sad isn't it? *sighs* And I haven't dated since, which is even sadder... -_-**

**Did anyone take note of the major hint I dropped at the end there? Any guess on what happens? *giggles***


	12. Unexpected Discoveries

**Okay, it's 2:13 in the morning as I'm writing an essay for my english class and I thought of my dear readers so I better get a hell of a lot of reviews...**

**Or else...**

**On another note, I totally couldn't come up with a better title for this chapter but the plot thickens to the point that a lot of you are going to be wondering 'where the heck is Ali going with this?'**

**Kukuku... I don't think I've even told Audrey everything... *evil giggle***

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**CrossWorlds ~ Part One ~ The Beginning ~ Chapter Twelve ~ Unexpected Discoveries**

The rest of school passed in a blur.

I spent most of it off in my own little world trying to figure out what Brittany might be planning. This would make for several sleepless nights until whatever it was happened but at least Audrey would be safe.

Safe from Brittany at least, but I didn't know if I could keep her from the ninjas or not…

_I suppose Kasugami would help me…_

"_**Indeed I will little one."**_

The sudden sound of his voice in my head made me jump visibly as I drove home and I was suddenly very, very glad that school was out. I would have looked like my cell phone had vibrated and have probably have been given detention…

"_Thank you, but how long have you been listening?" _I asked warily.

"_**Since I felt the turmoil, anxiety, and fear in your heart. You have but to ask and I shall aid you however I can." **_The ram replied, reminding me I had several questions for him regarding my new powers.

"_Thank you… I have many questions…" _I began hesitantly.

"_**Ask." **_Kasugami replied with gentle patients.

"_When I stop Time how great is the radius?" _I asked.

"_**Radius? Time is everywhere and everywhen. When Time is stopped in one place it is in all others as well. Do you have a plan little one?" **_Kasugami asked, sounding intrigued.

"_I… don't know yet. Can I stop Time for just one person?" _I was asking questions as I drove, my attention was divided in three main ways between driving, planning, and talking to Kasugami.

"_**Yes, but I was under the impression that you wished for you control over Time to be kept secret. Stopping just one person amidst others will certainly give you away." **_I nodded in agreement with his words.

"_Yes, but if the time arises that I need to stop a single person then I don't think that I'll need to worry about keeping it a secret…" _I answered with a sigh. My life was turning into a great heap of a mess.

"_**A good point little one…" **_Kasugami sounded thoughtful, _**"Keep in mind that it is not required that I be present for you to control Time. I must take my leave now, I have some acquaintances that I require an audience with. Fare well…"**_

And just like that he was gone.

I sighed again as I turned down my lane. Listening to Kasugami speak always made me feel like a little girl… He sounded like some ancient medieval hero.

_Or more like Merlin…_

I giggled aloud at that. My great wooly friend could probably put Author's wizard to shame with _his_ beard. My mood lightened at these thoughts. Kasugami's answers had eased my mind a great deal to allow me to make jokes.

I pulled into my usual parking spot and shut the car off. I didn't have any homework so I only needed my purse. I stepped out and shut the car door behind me. I took a step towards the house and paused to look up at the sky…

I wished desperately that it would storm or even just rain. That would calm my nerves, I wouldn't have to worry about Brittany. She was afraid of thunder and lightning. Brittany would always hide under her bed with me on the phone if I wasn't there with her and cry.

I smiled slightly at that happy grade school memory. I had 'protected' her from the storms, bullies, and anything else she was afraid of… Then when we hit high school she found new people to protect her and learned to protect herself.

I found Audrey.

I stuck my hands in my pockets as I remembered standing up for Audrey my sophomore year in high school when she had been a freshman. I'd beaten the shit out of some junior or senior that had tried to stick her in a trash can and piss on her.

I got a few bruises and a black eye, but it was all worth it for the new best friend I got. Audrey fallowed me around like a lost puppy whenever she could after that. I grinned at the sky as I shook my head and started towards the house.

I let myself in and paused feeling the heavy atmosphere. I focused on toeing my shoes off among the many pairs of ninja sandals before looking up at my house guests. My eyes were instantly drawn to a head of bright pink hair…

I blinked and took in my two new guests, Sakura Haruno and the Fifth Hokage herself Tsunade.

Tsunade stared at me from _my_ seat at the kitchen table. I fought down my possessiveness of _my_ chair and instead leaned on the back of the chair at the other end of the table, putting enough weight on it that it creaked in protest.

The tension went up at the sound. Things must have been _so_ interesting before I arrived. I met the Fifth Hokage's stare with my own and after several moments I quirked one eyebrow ever so slightly so that it looked more like a twitch.

The tension rose again and I kept waiting. My best guess what that she wanted the upper hand, perhaps she used eye contact to intimidate people too. I mostly used it to let people know that _I _was Queen Bitch.

I raised my eyebrow a little more and shifted a bit of my weight off the chair so it creaked again. Her eyes narrowed as she glared angrily at me. Tsunade's glare might scare some people, but I've always thought it mostly makes her look like a little girl pouting.

Jiraiya coughed slightly to get our attention, but neither of us looked at him as he spoke, "Tsunade…" She broke eye contact to look at him then, "This is the girl I told you about…"

I'd won the staring contest so I looked away from Tsunade to glare at Jiraiya. I raised the lower half of my right eye lid and arched my right eye brow while frowning. I pulled this particular face because Audrey once told me it made me look like I was about to jump and swallow whoever I was glaring at whole.

"'Girl?'" I asked Jiraiya slowly, "I can always kind you again Toad Sage…"

"Er…" Jiraiya coughed slightly, "Tsunade, this is our… uh… Host Ali. Ali this is-"

"I know who they are," I waved a hand at him, "First impressions are usually better if you don't glare at the person you're meeting…"

My voice was mild, but it had a definite affect on Tsunade who stood up fast enough that her chair would have toppled over backwards if Jiraiya hadn't caught it in time. From the look of pure fury on her face, I'd really pissed her off…

"How dare you!" She shouted at me, "I am the Hokage of the Village Hidden in the Leaves! I will not put up with such insubordination from a little girl!"

My inner monster snarled angrily at her tone as I met the Hokage's glare. I was glaring back with full force as my lip curled slightly and I _growled._

I don't mean those little growls I'd used before. This one was long and low and I had no doubt they all felt the sudden hot anger bordering rage rolling off of me in waves and a bit of red flickered at the corners of my vision.

I saw a brief flicker of surprise flicker across her face at the sudden surge of my anger and my growl. That satisfied a part of me and I offered a sneer as my anger receded ever so slightly as I spoke, "Do I look like I care? _Wake up Hokage Lady! _This isn't your village or even the Fire Country! This is _my _territory, _my_ house_._ Here I am Queen Bitch and you will listen to _me!_"

I snarled, deliberately being disrespectful. I waited meeting her glare with my own until she looked away again. Our staring contest hadn't been as long this time, no doubt due to the face that I had already established that _I _was the one in charge here.

Tsunade sat down slowly. Sighing she rested her elbows on the table with closed eyes as she rubbed her forehead tiredly while muttering, "…I need some sake..."

I snorted in amusement and she shot me a glare. I grinned back as my anger dissolved as quickly as it had come, "Sorry, none in the house. I'm underage and what alcohol I can get a hold of tastes nasty. Plus it turns your liver to stone."

"Who do you think you're talking to!" Tsunade snapped.

"You're talking to two of the shinobi world's greatest medics!" Sakura jumped in.

_Two…_

My head snapped up and my eyes widened as a sudden thought occurred to me. My jaw dropped slightly in shock, "No effing way…"

"Ali?" Deidara asked, pulling me back to reality.

My eyebrows drew together as I scanned the room of ninjas as I thought, putting the pieces together in my head. It made perfect, ridiculous sense…

"What's wrong Ali-chan?" Tobi asked warily. Madara knew something was up, I could almost see the gears turning in his head. He knew I'd just thought of something.

I needed time to think! I needed time to sort this all out without a bunch of ninja breathing down my neck!

_Oh yeah, I have amazing Time-stopping super powers… heh…_

_Okay Time! __**Stop!**_

And of course it did just that. I sighed in relief as the world took on that weird shimmer like looking down an asphalt highway in July. I leaned against the back of my chair and counted on my fingers.

"Okay… Itachi, Kisame, Hidan, Kakuzu, and Zetsu." I held up a finger for each of their names, "Five. Five of them appeared on Tuesday…"

"Konan, Pein, Deidara, and Tobi appeared on Wednesday. So four…" I held up a finger for each of their names too, "That completes my Akatsuki set…"

_I sound like a card or plushie collector…_

"Yesterday, Thursday, Orochimaru, Sasuke, and Jiraiya appeared… That makes three…" I wiggled three fingers to myself.

"And now I have Sakura and Tsunade… Two… It's a countdown…" I sighed and tapped two fingers on the table thoughtfully.

"Perfect, ridiculous sense…" I murmured, "So what's the connection? Why the Akatsuki first? First it's all villains then Jiraiya comes along? Why?"

I grumbled softly to myself, wishing I could call Kasugami, but he'd said he'd had _acquaintances_ to meet with so he probably didn't want to be disturbed. Did I risk talking to Itachi?

_But wait… I shouldn't have to! I can figure this out!_

I shifted my weight as I glanced around the room, then blinked, could it really be _that_ simple?

_That they're just all connected?_

The Akatsuki are the main antagonists in the series now, that's reason enough for them to show up! Orochimaru used to be part of the Akatsuki so that could be why he appeared next, then he's training Sasuke _and_ Itachi is his brother so that takes care of him...

_Jiraiya… You're a good guy. How did you get mixed up in this?_

I stared at him for a long moment before sighing and letting my eyes wonder again. I blinked and grimaced at my stupidity…

_Well duh Ali!_

Orochimaru, Jiraiya, and Tsunade were all three Sannin and therefore had all been on a team together! That's why Sakura appeared with Tsunade! Sakura is also Tsunade's apprentice _and_ she and Sasuke were on the same team.

_So I have the Akatsuki, the Sannin, and two out of three of Team 7 which means…_

"Naruto…" I sighed, "Naruto's going to arrive some time tomorrow…"

I frowned at the room again while I debated whether or not to wake Itachi up and let him know of my latest discovery. He'd probably help me if he could... But did I want to risk the others figuring out something was up?

I tapped my chin thoughtfully as I thought it over. Itachi was more than able to defend himself, but I was more worried about risking anyone else discovering my control over Time, especially Madara…

I shuddered at that, mentally and physically. If Madara found out what I could do I'd probably have to die before he'd ever let me go and my freedom is not something anyone is going to take away from me. If it ever comes down to it I would rather die than give up the freedom I have of no one telling me what to do.

_I'll wait for now._

I decided then my lips curled up in a smile. I wondered if I could persuade Itachi to model and let me draw him…

_It would be a good chance to get him away and talk to him… I'll still have to stop time to make sure we aren't heard though, and Kisame will probably want to keep an eye on his partner but that doesn't matter…_

I nodded to myself. The old looking barn in the back yard was actually in a lot better condition than it looked as it also served as my studio. I did nearly all of my artwork out there, including painting, drawing, glass cutting, and making clay figures. Plus I have a kick-ass stereo system that makes the world go away.

With my new plan I put my shocked look back on my face and mentally prepared myself to explain my new discovery. It wouldn't hurt for them know my theory and they might even come up with part of it themselves so I wouldn't have to show them just how much thought I'd put into it… It pays to have people underestimate you, it means you can get away with more.

I settled my shocked expression and released my hold on Time…

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**Cliffhanger! Woo!!**

**Just remember to leave me reviews!!!**

**Or else... *growls***


	13. All Since Yesterday

**I'm posting early, so I really hope to get some nice reviews. This is also a celebration of my pending high school graduation as today was my last day of high school while everyone else has something like two more weeks of school(Ha!).**

**But any way, I, again, couldn't think of a decent title to save my life so ya'll get this lame one...**

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**CrossWorlds ~ Part One ~ The Beginning ~ Chapter Thirteen ~ All Since Yesterday…**

I flapped my hand at Tobi in a 'leave me alone I'm thinking' way as I frowned suddenly, or faked frowning any way as I glanced around the room. My lips moved as I counted again silently then let shock cross my face again as I sucked in a quick breath that sounded more like a gasp.

"It's a countdown…" I breathed out as my eyes continued to roam over my collected guests.

"What do you mean?" Tsunade asked testily with narrowed eyes.

"Itachi, Kisame, Kakuzu, Hidan, and Zetsu appeared Tuesday," I held up five fingers.

"Pein, Konan, Deidara, and Tobi appeared Wednesday," I tucked my thumb in and wiggled the four fingers.

"Orochimaru, Jiraiya, and Sasuke appeared yesterday," I lowered my littlest finger.

"Then you and Sakura appear today," I tucked down my ring finger next.

I had their undivided attention now as I let my hand drop and rested my elbows on the back of the chair in front of me, "When you mentioned 'the _two_ greatest medics' it just clicked. I've spent most of the day trying to figure out why you guys appeared the way you did so that helped complete the puzzle."

"What the fuck is _that_ suppose to mean?" Hidan demanded.

"I don't know," I shrugged which only served to piss him off more.

Silence fallowed and I was determined _not_ to speak. They had to figure this one out on their own, I knew I was at least on the right track but I wasn't about to let them know how much I suspected. They might take it as I knew more than I was telling them.

So I hadn't exactly lied when I told Hidan 'I don't know.' I just bent the truth a little bit, I actually didn't know why their appearances were forming a countdown, but it gave me a bad vibe…

So while they pondered silently I let my mind and eyes wander. My glance passed over Sakura who was casting, or was trying to cast, discrete glances at Sasuke. That made me want to laugh out loud and I briefly wondered why she wasn't wrapped around him…

_Then again I think she has a bit more spine in the manga than the fanfictions I read, more of a brain too… Poor Sakura, she gets bashed in fanfictions a lot but the fan-girl-ism and how shallow she was before the time skip didn't really help her case…_

Personally I don't give a shit _how_ she acted as long as she shows _me_ the proper respect. As I told Tsunade, I'm Queen Bitch here and she had better listen when I tell her something.

The silence just kept stretching and I was starting to get bored. I desperately wanted to go out to the barn and do _something_. Hey, maybe I'd even let Deidara watch me work…

_Yeah right. He won't keep his trap shut about how much 'better' _his_ art is…_

I yawned after a minute and felt the attention flicker briefly to me then away when it became evident I wasn't going to say anything. I glanced up at the clock…

_4:10 No wonder I'm hungry…_

I straightened up and meandered around the table and into the kitchen. I felt several pairs of eyes, and probably one looking through a hole in a certain swirly orange mask, fallowing my movement. I opened the cabinet and let my eyes roam over the scant contents.

I was definitely going shopping tomorrow. There was hardly anything left!

I frowned as I shut the doors. I wasn't really mad since it gave me an excuse to get into my stash of candy and other sweet things that I kept hidden around the barn for no reason.

"So what's counted down to, un?" Deidara finally asked.

"**How are we supposed to know?** We don't even know why we're here…" Zetsu snapped/murmured back.

"Or why the Akatsuki and Sannin both appeared together…" Kakuzu mumbled.

It took most of my willpower not to say anything to that. Inwardly I was pulling my hair out, which reminded me that my hair was long enough to donate again and that I did want a short cut for the summer. But really, I thought that these guys were some of the smartest people in the Naruto world!!

I wandered back into the room as silence fell again, each person lost in their own thoughts. The fact that they weren't figuring it out very fast made me feel pretty darn smug.

I was definitely in the mood for some drawing.

"Hey Itachi, want to model for a drawing for me?" I asked bluntly of the Uchiha. Of course I was fairly certain he would get the unspoken message that I wanted to talk to him.

"Why Itachi?" Pein asked with slightly narrowed eyes. Oh, so he picked up on the message did he? Hmm…

I grinned cheekily at him, "Because Itachi has pretty eyes."

There were a few snorts at that. Sasuke glared and actually spoke, well snapped, "And what's wrong with my eyes?"

I looked at him and shrugged, "Nothing, but the face around them has to look nice too."

It was a nice slap to the younger Uchiha's ego that cheered me up even more. Plus his haircut reminds me of a duck with the back being its butt and his bangs being the wings.

Sasuke's glare intensified as Itachi stepped forward and nodded. Kisame also straightened with a grin as he simply said, "I've got to make sure you two behave yourselves."

"Heh. Funny, but for some reason I think you're the one who usually needs someone to make sure you behave," I grinned at the shark man to let him know I was playing.

"To right," He agreed with a laugh.

"Can I see some of your art, un?" Deidara asked hesitantly.

I decided against my earlier decision and nodded with a smile, "Sure."

"Me too?" Tobi asked cheerily.

I nodded without hesitation, but inside, I was screaming with frustration.

_Damn you Madara!! But you're not going to get anything…_

I thought darkly as I walked out the door with the four Akatsuki fallowing, leaving the rest of them to puzzle over my 'countdown' theory. I paced slowly across the yard towards the barn with the four of them fallowing.

The barn itself is so old that all the red paint has peeled off and the wood has turned gray. The tin roof had been replaced several years ago, but it still bore rust spots and streaks yet did not leak. Three doors were on the front, one large sliding door that had made it possible for livestock to get in and out when it was first built. A smaller door was beside that and a door to the loft was above the larger door though there wasn't a ladder.

I pushed open the smaller door and flicked the light switches. I felt all four of them pause to take in the various areas of my studio and probably study various pieces laying around. Both sides of the barn had bench-like tables running the length of the walls and a large sturdy table took up the center of the 'room' which was the entire bottom floor of the barn with a ladder tucked against the back wall that led to the loft.

I sighed with contentment as I felt my shoulders relax. I wondered over to the back left corner and pulled out four stacked stools and carried them forward to the Akatsuki, "Here, you can sit on these. They might be a bit dusty since I don't usually have people in here…"

They each took a stool and waited to see where I was going to go. I had hooked my own stool forward and grabbed a pencil and one of the sketchpads from the shelf above the bench-table. I perched on my stool with my sketchpad in my lap, "Just sit however you want Itachi."

Deidara, Tobi, and Kisame moved to sit on either side me, Deidara on my left so he could look over my shoulder with Tobi beside him trying to peek around his partner and Kisame on my right leaning against the bench-table to watch as well. Itachi stationed his stool about five feet away and removed his cloak before sitting casually on the stool with his right foot braced on the support ring around the bottom and the other hanging freely. He rested his right elbow on his right knee and rested his left hand on his thigh.

Over all, it was a damn sexy pose and I had to fight to keep my face straight and drooling as I started roughing out the basic lines, I'd go back and put in details later.

I paused a moment to look at Itachi, seemingly to make sure I had everything and twitched an eyebrow at him. He obviously understood my silent questions since he gave a blink in response that was a second too long to be natural.

_**Stop.**_

I ordered time. It did of course. I then turned my will to Itachi and willed him _not_ to be stopped as I watched him. I didn't know whether or not I'd have to touch him like I did last time…

"You wanted to speak with me," Itachi murmured, letting his Sharingan fade. I guessed with how much he kept it activated it was probably nice to be able to turn it off every once in a while.

I was glad that I wouldn't have to touch him if I stopped Time in the future and we couldn't move without giving ourselves away. Which was nice now too since Deidara and Kisame were so close and I didn't think I could get my exact position back if I moved.

"Yeah," I answered, "Did you figure out why the people who appeared the way they did?"

He blinked and shrugged, "I have theories. You ask as if you already know though…"

I grinned at him, "I have a theory. I think it's just how all of you are connected."

He arched one brow slightly, "Connected?"

"Yeah," I nodded, "Orochimaru was part of the Akatsuki, Sasuke's his apprentice and your brother, Jiraiya and Orochimaru were once on the same team, Tsunade, Orochimaru, and Jiraiya were all on the same team, Sakura and Sasuke are part of the same team and she's Tsunade's apprentice. Little stuff like that."

Itachi stared at me for several long moments before smiling slightly, "You are much more perceptive than you have led us all to believe Ali."

I gave s short laugh and grin, "Thanks. I also wanted to know whether we should bring Kisame in on me being able to stop Time. I've kinda gathered that he's more loyal to you than the Akatsuki so he'd be able to help us out in a fix…"

Itachi blinked and was silent for several long moments as he considered it before nodding, "I trust you're going to fill him in on everything that has happened?"

I shrugged, "You've known him longer than me, but if you think so, yes."

I find it pretty easy to talk to Itachi, plus I know I can trust him. It's not the fact that I know his past either, it's the gut deep feeling that he's someone I can tell me deepest, darkest secrets and he'll keep them. That was possibly the only reason I could find that I felt comfortable asking for his help.

"Kisame would keep this secret if that is what you are worried about," Itachi answered with a hint of a smile again.

I nodded and turned to touch Kisame's hand and _willed_ him to be able to move outside of Time. I watched his eyes and knew I had succeeded when he blinked and met mine. Confusion flickered across his face as he spoke, "Ali? What's going on?"

I decided being blunt was my best course of action, "I recently learned I could control Time when I stopped Itachi and Sasuke from fighting back by the Wreck. While Time was stopped I moved a log, tripped Sasuke, and unstopped Itachi and let him in on my new Powers," I paused to take a breath, "Then today I stopped Time again earlier when Tsunade and Sakura appeared when I figured out that you guys appearing is some sort of countdown," I paused again to breath, "Finally I convince Itachi to come out here and model for me which was a cover up to be able to talk to him. Then I asked him if cluing you in was a good idea and since he agreed, I did, and here we are!"

I grinned cheerfully and Kisame's dumbstruck expression which hardened briefly before looking to Itachi. He blinked slightly and I thought I detected a bit of surprise flit across his face, possibly from seeing Itachi without his Sharingan activated, but it cleared as he spoke, "Is she telling the truth?"

"Yes," Itachi answered with a nod. Kisame blinked and looked back at me with his face angled so his cloak hid the bottom half of his face and I couldn't read his expression.

He stayed like that for several moments before relaxing and shaking his head. When he looked back again I could see his face and his sharky grin as he spoke again, "Damn girl, there's certainly more to you than meets the eye!"

I laughed, "I know right? And just think, all of that since yesterday!"

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**Yeah... So Kisame is in on 'my' superpowers now. What fun will THAT spawn? And get your minds out of the gutters as I do not, I repeat, do NOT plan on writing any smut in this story! Perviness yes, smut no...**


	14. Plotting

***Groans* I am SO sorry I'm so late getting this out. I've been suffering from a major writer's block, but muddled on as best I could since the end of the last chapter... *cries* I've never had such a hard time writing a chapter to this story. So if the first half or so sucks I'm truely sorry...**

**I once again had trouble with the title, but at least I feel like this one halfway fits. 'Plotting' can mean either planning, or predicting where a line will go on a graph(HOLY SHIT I USED SOMETHING FROM MY MATH CLASS!!! *drops to floor and starts foaming at mouth*).**

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**CrossWorlds ~ Part One ~ The Beginning ~ Chapter Fourteen ~ Plotting**

"Which probably also mean the worse is yet to come," I grumbled after our laughter had died down. I hunched my shoulders as I frowned and glared at the ceiling.

That got both of their attention, though Itachi spoke first, "Do you know something you aren't telling us Ali?"

I shrugged as I met his eyes to answer, "I don't know yet. You know about the problems I'm having at school right now with Brittany right?"

They both nodded. Kisame grinned, "Isn't she the one who gave you all those bruises?"

"It was probably eight on one!" I snapped at him hotly, "And I _won_ thank you very much!"

Kisame chuckled good naturedly while I glared at him in mock anger. Itachi cleared his throat and we both looked at him, "Back to what you aren't telling us."

I sighed and rubbed my forehead, "It's not that I'm not telling you, it's that I don't _know_ whether something is happening yet. Brittany did a fairly good 'I'm up to something' act today even if she wasn't smart enough to realize it."

"What about Audrey?" Kisame asked. I gave him a startled, wide-eyed look that made him chuckle and shrug, "She's cute in her own way," I glared at him now, "Not like _that_! She's not my type, but she also doesn't seem like the type who can fight…"

He trailed off and I drooped. I stared at the floor, wallowing in guilt and self-loathing for a good minute which made the two of them exchange a look I couldn't see before Itachi spoke, "Ali…"

I continued to stare at the floor with a blank, yet sad face, "I… Made sure Brittany would leave her alone."

I kept staring at the floor, hoping they wouldn't ask…

"How?"

I closed my eyes then. I really didn't want to talk about being a bitch to Audrey. I felt guilty enough already and talking about it would only make it worse, "By letting a little of my old self out for a little bit."

Maybe, just maybe if I was cryptic enough they would get the message that I didn't want to talk and would let it lie. I opened my eyes to stare at the floor again, my face was a mask of blank sadness that I wore when I was depressed with myself and I didn't want to talk.

"Old self?" Kisame asked, sounding slightly puzzled. His tone would have been almost comical if the situation wasn't so serious and I wasn't starting to get frustrated with their cluelessness.

"As in who I used to be," I answered in with more than a bit of a grumble in my voice, "I wasn't a nice person back then, back before Audrey knew me. But can we please skip over this, I feel guilty enough already…"

I was whining. I _hate_ it when people whine at me, but I hate it even worse when I catch _myself_ whining. I added disgust to my emotions, making them a nice blend of guilt, self-loathing, anger, irritation, depression, and self-disgust.

_I hate my life._

That stray thought brought a glimmer of amusement since one of my favorite mottoes to use and live by was, 'Life sucks. Then you die. The end.' I even made a cartoon of it one time. I got some really disturbed looks when people read it, which made _me_ laugh at least.

"That bad, huh?" Kisame murmured.

I looked up at him and even kept my face straight as I answered, "No, probably worse."

He snorted in a laugh as he caught my mood and my lips twitched up ever so slightly in a smile at his laughter. Itachi merely frowned at me, but didn't comment on my not so subtle change of subject.

"What you think Brittany is going to do?" Itachi asked instead.

I shrugged and shook my head, "I don't know. Neither Brittany, nor her friends are smart enough to come up with anything sneaky by themselves. Anything they come up with will be fairly straight forward."

"Like what?" Kisame asked curiously.

I shrugged again, "I don't know. Back when we were friends and somebody ticked me off or picked on her I was the one who came up with whatever we did to get back at them. She'll do something she thinks is sneaky, but I'll probably be able to see it coming."

_I hope so anyway…_

I couldn't risk the Akatsuki or the rest of the Naruto characters being discovered. I knew Brittany wouldn't keep a secret like this, she'd use it for blackmail. Every time she needed or wanted something, she'd use that little tidbit of information to make me do it for her.

Even then Brittany won't do anything alone. She'd call her little posse of air brained girls and muscle bound jocks to help her out. That cheered me slightly since she was afraid of me and she knew it. It made my life a bit more difficult, but it made me happy at the same time.

I'm not one of those people who likes to make people afraid of me for no reason, but it doesn't hurt to have the whole school think that I'll kick someone's ass for looking at me the wrong way. I also bluff very well, even then I'm not usually bluffing if I say I'll kick someone's ass.

When I say I'm going to do something I make sure I _always_ do it. I have a good reputation of having a bad reputation. Heh, good thing I don't give a damn about my reputation…

"So you're saying you don't know what will happen or when, but you'll know it when you see it?" Itachi asked, though it wasn't _quite_ a question in my book it still got a question mark at the end.

I nodded in answer, "Yeah. It'll probably be something lame like egging my car, breaking its windows, and slashing the tires which is easy to retaliate against since I can do the same to her," I grinned wickedly then added, "Or I can have a friend of mine blow their cars up."

"Deidara _cannot_ be made privy to your powers, nor should you drag him into your squabble," Itachi spoke in a low voice with narrowed Sharingan red eyes.

I stared at him with my best 'Do I look that stupid to you?' expression and spoke with the same tone in my voice as I voiced said question, "Do I look that stupid to you?"

Kisame chuckled and opened his mouth to speak, but I beat him to the punch, "Rhetorical question, don't answer that. I have other friends you guys haven't met and probably won't meet. One of them just happens to make bombs in his spare time and play with fire."

I frowned at Itachi and quirked on brow as a waited for his answer. Kisame blinked and shook his head slightly, meeting Itachi's eyes over my head and grinning with the silent message of, _'Smarter than she looks, eh Itachi?'_

Itachi's Sharingan faded and his eyes flickered to Kisame's with 'All right, don't rub it in,' expression on his face. I missed Kisame's message, but interoperated Itachi's expression as surprise, which made me grin mischievously and wink, "Don't get _too_ comfy Itachi, I've still a few tricks up my sleeve yet…"

I didn't really, but it wouldn't hurt for them to think I did. A bunch of rowdy, muscle-ly redneck guys with big trucks and shotguns were formidable opponents for everyone I've ever gone up against, but they wouldn't stand a chance against a ninja. Especially these ninja…

I couldn't risk my boys who were more like brothers than friends. Sure, they could easily make Brittany and whoever she got to come with her after me to turn tail and run, but that would also put them in danger of being targeted by the ninja I was sharing my house with.

"Is it anything helpful?" Itachi asked with a slightly knowing smirk.

I pouted at him, knowing that he knew that he'd caught onto my little bluff. I blew out a gusty sigh and shook my head, "No, not really. Having them around would make Brittany run away with her tail between her legs, but they wouldn't be a match for anyone here."

"You've told them about us?" Kisame asked with a bit of steel in his tone.

I growled at him, "No you moron! I'm not about to run around crying wolf! You guys would vanish when anyone showed up then eat me alive when they left!"

Both of them looked blank. I rolled my eyes, "It's a story told to little kids to keep them from lying. A boy watching sheep runs and cries wolf to his village, they come running to his rescue but there's no wolf when they get there and the kid laughs at them. He does that a couple more times and both times it's a false alarm. Then he cries wolf and then he isn't faking, only none of the villagers come and the wolf eats the kid. The end."

They exchanged a look and were silent for several moments as they looked back at me. Itachi shook his head slightly, but made no comment. Kisame broke the silence by chuckling softly, but his chuckle gradually rose in volume to become an all out laugh.

"So what is this last trick up your sleeve?" Itachi asked as Kisame's laugh died down.

I grinned, "It's not my last one, but it's mostly a bunch of muscle-ly guys who are friends of mine who think of me as a little sister. Meaning if I drop a hint about someone giving me a hard time they'll go beat the shit out of them."

Itachi shook his head at that, Kisame chuckled again before speaking, "So you've got a team to back you up?"

I frown and tilted my head back and forth as I thought about it, "Kinda… More like friends in low places… Or high places, depending on how you look at it."

I finished grinning, then sighed as I glanced sideways at Deidara and Tobi. I narrowed my eyes slightly at the masked nin, I knew he knew something and I was going to have to work harder than ever to make sure Madara didn't find out about my powers. He and everyone else would know Audrey was my biggest weakness by now. If Madara or Orochimaru found out that I could control Time they would hound me to World's end to make use of my power.

"Well," I began, "Is there anything else?" I asked, looking first at Itachi, then Kisame, "I don't want to leave them frozen all night and I don't think I can stay awake all night. Plus I'm going to have to feed everyone… Somehow…"

I frowned then as I realized they'd cleaned out a lot of my food supply. Which also reminded me that I had several stashes still in the barn, but it was mostly snack food and wasn't really appropriate to feed to my house guests.

"Do you have any idea what Brittany might do? And when she'll do it?" Itachi asked.

I sighed and tilted my head as I thought about it with a frown, "Not tonight, maybe tomorrow. She's a cheerleader and they have practice year-round so she'll be at the school until… Probably six o'clock, then she'll go either get high or fuck her latest boy toy, probably both."

I shook my head at that. I didn't approve of that kind of life style nor could I understand what was appealing about it. I have nothing against cheerleading, but it's not for me. I have no desire to _ever_ do any kind of drugs, or drink for that matter. I can get loopy off Mt. Dew and pixie sticks and keep up with hype heads. Sleeping around with a different guy every week is nasty. Period. Especially when those same guys slept with a different girl the week before.

"So this girl's a whore too?" Kisame asked.

I blinked, then threw back my head and _laughed._ I got myself under control with a snort then waved my hands apologetically at Kisame, "No, no, it's not you," I snorted again, "It's what you said, but yes. Brittany and her little posse are the biggest whores in the school. What made me laugh is the fact that she gets majorly pissed when someone actually calls her a whore to her face," I grinned, "Which I frequently do, right after she calls me a bitch."

"So you think she'll try something tomorrow?" Itachi asked, bring me and Kisame back to topic.

I nodded, "Yeah," Then sighed, "If my guess is right we're also going to have _Naruto_ to contend with at some point tomorrow too."

"The Kyuubi container?" Kisame asked with plain startlement.

I nodded again, "Yeah, think about it. All three of the Sannin have appeared. Sasuke is the Snake Man's apprentice, Sakura is Tsunade's apprentice, and Naruto is Jiraiya's apprentice," I shrugged, "It makes sense that he would be next, plus the Akatsuki is after the fox so that makes yet another connection."

"Shit," Kisame mumbled.

I snorted, "Yeah. My thoughts too. Do you think Pein will try something?"

Itachi frowned, then shook his head, "No, not with both the Hokage and Toad Sage present to protect him."

I nodded, "Good point. Sakura would help out too and she's not slouch, she is the one who killed Sasori with help. Plus, weirdly enough, I think Orochimaru and Sasuke would be on their side. Orochimaru for the sake of not wanting the Akatsuki to achieve their goals and Sasuke because I think, deep down, he still cares about Naruto and Sakura."

Itachi smile slightly at that and nodded, "Good point. I think that concludes this."

"Things are sure going to be interesting tomorrow anyway," Kisame grinned, showing off rows of pointed teeth.

I snorted again, "I don't disagree. Try to get back to how you were before I stopped Time…"

Both of them shifted position to how they were before I froze Time. I adjusted my hand and looked up at Itachi and into his Sharingan red eyes. I twitched the corner of my mouth in a smile…

_**Okay Time. Thanks for your help…**_

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**If you're going to Favorite me, please, please, please, please, please, PLEASE leave a review too! Reviews make me absolutely ESTATIC!! And I PROMISE to reply to you if it's not anonymous!! I heart my readers!**


	15. Love Life, or Lack of One

**So yeah, I was still suffering from mild writer's block when I started this but I think I got back on my feet by the end...**

**On another note, a happy one, I am now officially graduated! Woo! **

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****CrossWorlds ~ Part One ~ The Beginning ~ Chapter Fifteen ~ Love Life, or Lack of One**

Time started moving again as usual so I started defining lines on the paper of Itachi's outline. I let my mind wander as I glanced back and forth between my paper and Itachi as I continued to define this and that line.

_Audrey would wet her pants if she knew I was doing this…_ I grinned to myself as I put in some smaller details here and there.

"What's funny, un?" Deidara asked.

I gave a short laugh, but continued drawing as I answered, "Audrey is a fan of Itachi, she'd probably wet herself if she knew I was getting to draw him."

"Audrey likes Itachi-san?" Tobi asked.

_Obviously dumbass…_

My eyebrow twitched slightly, but it was on Kisame's side so he couldn't see it. I was looking at Itachi again to check details so he saw my annoyance and narrowed his eyes at me ever so slightly, but I caught the message of 'Stay calm. You can't let him know you're onto him.'

I snorted in amusement at Itachi, but it was quick enough that it would be interoperated that I found Tobi's comment amusing instead, "'Like' is an understatement. Audrey is a prime example of a 'rabid fangirl.'"

"'Rabid'?" Kisame questioned.

I grinned and nodded again, "Crazed. You did see her practically drooling over him when she was here didn't you?"

Kisame snorted in amusement at that. Tobi nodded vigorously, "Tobi remembers! She didn't seem to like Deidara-sempai much though…"

Deidara looked a bit annoyed and slightly sullen when Tobi mentioned his observation, mumbling something under his breath that I couldn't quite catch. I snorted again and shook my head, "You don't think Itachi is the only one she has a crush on do you?"

I grinned as Deidara gave me a sharp look, "Her first love was Gaara of the Sand. She doesn't like you cause you killed him."

Deidara looked more sullen after that and mumbled something else under his breath, but I didn't pay much attention as I went back to sketching Itachi. Tobi however wasn't done questioning me, "So do _you_ have a crush on anybody Ali-chan?"

_I hate you Madara Uchiha…_

I thought grumpily as my face heated up, probably turning bright red. I shook myself and coughed slightly to clear my throat as I mumbled, "_That_ is none of your business."

Tobi giggled at that, joining Kisame's laughter as Deidara started to chuckle as well. Itachi even had a slightly smirk on his face, while I grumbled unintelligibly and darkened a few lines on my paper particularly how Itachi's smile looked.

"C'mon Ali-chan! Tobi wants to know!" The masked nin persisted.

"Me too, un! You can tell us Ali!" Deidara added on with a wicked grin as I glared at the two of them.

"Is it someone we know?" Kisame asked with that smexy sharky grin of his, though I missed it as I growled and hunched my shoulders up and concentrated on my drawing.

"Should we take that as a 'yes,' un?" Deidara asked slyly with a knowing grin.

"Even if I had a love life it wouldn't be any of your damn concern!" I spat, flickers of surprise crossed their faces at my tone. With that I shut my sketchpad with a bit more force than necessary before standing and tossing both onto my work table before stalking towards the door. I paused to snag a bag of Cheetos, a Mt. Dew, and a bag of Pixie Sticks out of a cabinet before exiting and slamming the door behind me.

I missed the looks the remaining Akatsuki exchanged. Kisame sighed and rubbed the back of his head in an embarrassed manner, "I think we hit a nerve there…"

"Yeah… Who've thought she'd be sensitive about _that_? I thought most girls liked that romantic stuff…" Deidara mumbled as he turned his gaze to the floor.

Itachi sighed and changed position, be remained silent. He could only guess why Ali's love life was a touchy subject, a bad experience perhaps? Maybe she _did_ like one of them and knew such a relationship wouldn't be advisable, let alone possible and was trying to hide it as best she could.

_Clever girl…_ Itachi mused to himself in silence as the other three exchanged looks among themselves.

"Should we go after her?" Tobi wondered aloud.

They exchanged looks again. Itachi shook his head, "No, wait for her to cool off and come back. I doubt she really wants to see us right now."

"Yeah right Uchiha! We should go apologize for upsetting her instead of sitting here!" Deidara argued, he wasn't about to agree with that Uchiha bastard!!

A glaring match followed, made all the more intense with the heavy silence that went along with it.

"Where is the girl?" A cold voice asked from the door.

The four looked to the door to find Pein standing in the doorway with killer intent rolling off him in waves. He was _not _happy to come out here to speak with Ali only to find her gone. His eyes narrowed dangerously when no one spoke up immediately, but instead exchanged looks with one another again.

"Well?" Pein demanded again.

"We… Uh…" Deidara began, but Tobi interrupted.

"We brought up some sensitive subjects and Ali-chan got angry and left," The masked nin said in a small voice, sounding properly ashamed of himself.

"What kind of sensitive subject matter?" Jiraiya asked in a hard tone as Pein stepped through the door to allow the Toad Sage to enter as well, followed by Tsunade.

"Her love life…" Deidara mumbled, "Or lack of one as she put it…"

"'_Lack of'?_" Jiraiya sounded started, "She doesn't have a boyfriend?"

"Apparently not," Kisame answered, sounding sullen as he stared at the ceiling.

"Where did she go though?" Tsunade demanded with a scowl, she was _not_ impressed by some girl who ran off just because she got offended.

"Tobi doesn't know…"

"You didn't go after her?" Tsunade snapped.

"She did not want us to. Ali will be back when she calms down," Itachi answered with slightly narrowed eyes, "She is hurting Lady Hokage and she doesn't want her pain made known."

"How do you know?" Jiraiya asked in a neutral tone.

Itachi shrugged, "A wounded dog will lash out if cornered. Ali is hurting and we unknowingly backed her into a corner, she lashed out then left but I am confident she will come back."

"Then we should leave her for the time being," Pein spoke, "If she does not return by morning then we will look for her."

Jiraiya nodded in agreement and turned to go back to the house, Tsunade scowled at the Akatsuki for a moment before turning to fallow Jiraiya though she looked most like an offended cat as she stalked towards the house.

The five Akatsuki watched silently as the two Sannin entered the house and remained thus until the door shut. Pein turned back to the four with narrowed eyes as he spoke, "What did she say?"

"Nothing helpful, mostly how her friend Audrey doesn't like Deidara because he captured and killed the One-Tail's host," Itachi supplied. Deidara grumbled under his breath at that and looked away with a slight pout.

Pein's eyes narrowed further at that, "And how did you get on that subject?"

Kisame grinned, "She mentioned how her friend would probably wet her pants if she knew she was getting to draw Itachi since that Audrey girl apparently has a crush on him. Supposedly she has a crush on the One-Tail's host too."

"How did that lead to _her _love life?"

Tobi fidgeted slightly with his fingers a moment before speaking up, "Tobi asked if Ali had a crush on anybody like Audrey-chan does… She… She told Tobi it was none of his business…"

"Then we pestered her about it and she snapped at us and left," Deidara finished looked even more sullen. He'd taken a liking to his fellow artist, even if he wasn't sure about her views on art yet.

"That's all?" Pein asked after a short moment of silence.

"Yeah," Deidara answered with Kisame and Tobi nodding in agreement while Itachi remained silent. The leader's eyes narrowed momentarily before turning and walking silently to enter the house, leaving the four in the barn. They traded looks briefly, but nothing was said as they drifted off to their respective thoughts of Ali.

While all that was going on I had made my way back to the Wreck and had sprawled out on its roof with one arm tucked behind my head and the other stuffing the occasional Cheeto into my mouth. I was still angry, but I was angrier with myself for my reaction.

_Damn it, how could I be so stupid? I might as well have told them I have a crush on a few people in there!_

I brought my hand up to rub my forehead, careful to only use the heel so I wouldn't get cheese dust on my forehead or in my hair. That would sure give them something else to talk about for a while! I was almost getting lost in my thoughts when the back of my neck pricked in warning.

_Stupid ninja…_

I thought grumpily. I ignored whoever it was for the moment; whoever it was wouldn't hurt me. I was their access card to the real world. I frowned slightly at that, I was going to have to use my own savings so my parents wouldn't notice the sudden spending increase.

I felt around beside me until I located both my Mt. Dew and Pixie Sticks. I opened the Dew and took a drink of it as I started in on the Pixie Sticks. I knew this would probably make me hyper out of my mind and keep me up for the next three or four hours, but at the moment, I could care less. Actually, as bummed as I felt now this probably wouldn't do squat.

The prickly feeling was getting worse. I resisted the urge to squirm from the feeling of 'get-up-and-beat –someone's-ass' that I get whenever someone watches me. It's a personal vendetta thing. I don't like people to walk or stand behind me either.

I was debating on whether I should ignore them completely or call them out as I stared unseeingly at the darkening sky while I drank my Mt. Dew and downed Pixie Sticks. A few stars were starting to become visible and the lightning bugs were beginning to come out. It was kinda early in the year for them but it was warmer than normal for this time of year.

I sighed and wiggled slightly to get more comfortable as I tossed the empty Mt. Dew can over the side of the Wreck. I folded one hand up behind my head and let the other rest on my stomach as I began to drift slowly towards sleep. Sometimes this happens, caffeine and sugar have the opposite effect that they normally have on me.

I was very nearly asleep when I felt the slight taps of two feet landing beside me on the Wreck's roof. I was conscious enough that I was still thinking and could wake up in a hurry if I needed too, but close enough to sleep that I actually looked like I really _am_ asleep.

I felt the Wreck sway ever so slightly as whoever it was changed position. With my eyes closed, my other senses felt like they'd been enhanced. So I could hear the slight swish of clothing against skin and the barely perceptible intake and exhale of breathe. I didn't change my breathing as I identified the normal woodsy smells and tried to separate my stalker's scent from that.

Whoever it was smelled faintly of dark places, like somewhere underground, but in a good way with a tinge of smoke. Otherwise they smelled exactly like the woods around me. Since they smelt of smoke that eliminated Zetsu since he wouldn't be around fire that much, he would be traveling within the ground not within caves.

I kept my face smooth, but I was getting frustrated with myself. Any of the Akatsuki was really possible since they all probably stayed in a cave at one point in time to make camp and for the extractions of the Tailed Beasts.

Cool fingers suddenly brushed across my cheekbone and lightly skimmed the tip of my nose. Whoever it was touched my face again to brush a few stray hairs aside and tuck them behind my ears.

My mind had gone completely blank at the contact. No one, I mean _no one_ had ever touched me like that. Sure, I'd had fantasies of having some strong man be all gentle with me, but this was someone from another world! This shouldn't be happening! I shouldn't be liking it!

_Oh, shit…_

My inner beast had been prepared to rush to my defense, but that part of me was turning into a pile of goo along with the rest of me. Those fingers traced across my cheekbone again and around the outside of my ear and fallowed the curve to trace a tendon in my neck.

My breathing had deepened further and I was almost completely relaxed with whoever this was. My mind was still awake though and I was trying to convince myself that I should do something to stop this before something bad happened!

_Pft, like what? Tracing somewhere inappropriate? You know you'll like it…_

The perverted part of me scolded. Truth be told I probably _would_ like it. I've read enough books and fanfics to know what would happen next if I was awake and I was certain I wasn't ready to walk _that_ road yet. I haven't even got my first kiss yet!

Fingers traced along my hairline and fallowed that curve to continue along my jaw line. They hovered at my chin before brushing my slightly parted lips, tracing first my upper lip then the lower.

_Oh shit, oh shit, oh shit…_

Part of me chanted as my perverted self went off into some wild fantasies. I couldn't help but notice that I didn't put a face on my assailant. Which kind of worried me, it could be Jiraiya for all I know! Actually, I didn't think Jiraiya would keep his hands solely on my face…

The hand traced back along my jaw line and back down the same tendon in my neck and paused at my shirt's collar before slowly and gently pulling it slightly to the side to expose more of my shoulder. Alarm bells clanged in the back of my mind then as my hand twitched slightly where it rested on my stomach.

My assailant froze as I sucked in a deeper breath and slowly opened my eyes…

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**...**

**Kukukukukuku...**

**Oh, the joy of ending on a cliffhanger...**

**I haven't done this to you guys in a few chapters so I decided you guys needed a little suspense...**

**Plus I had fun writing this! ^_^**

**Cookies to whoever can guess who this is!! Oh and you get a name mention of your choice in a future chapter!**


	16. Hidden Power

**Whew! I had a horrible time coming up with a title for this, so sorry if it sucks...**

**But congrats to my four people who guessed who my mysterious assaliant was! *throws cookies***

**Narutofan777**

**Three-tailed-fox**

**Hyourin-kusabana **

**Liliedove**

**Thanks to everyone else for guessing! As for my four winners, simply give me a name for a character and he/she will appear in the story somewhere down the road. I'll let you know in advance what Part I'm going to put them in if you want to give them a description too! Keep in mind that Naruto isn't the only manga CrossWorlds is taking place in if you have another manga in mind and I've read it!**

**Words- 2,745 (holy crap! longest chapter yet!)**

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**CrossWorlds ~ Part One ~ The Beginning ~ Chapter Sixteen ~ Hidden Power**

"_Sasuke?"_

The fingers against my neck twitch ever so slightly in recognition. I was shocked to say the least, of all the people I would expect to get touchy-feely Sasuke was never one of them. I had expected it to be Jiraiya in truth, being his usual perverted self or even Orochimaru trying to put a curse-mark on me for his own purposes.

_Which would explain why I smelt smoke and dark places. The Snake Man's lairs are mostly underground and lit by lanterns and candles…_

The smell had confused the hell out of me before, but it made sense now. We stared at each other for a long time. I knew it was a while since I watched the shadows on his face darken as I laid there looking up at him with a surprised, slightly bemused expression on my face as he kept his face blank.

_Ugh…_

I groaned mentally. I did _not_ was to spend the whole night waiting for him to spit out whatever he wanted to say. I knew there had to be _something_ I couldn't picture Sasuke casually touching anyone, especially me. He barely knew me after all and his light caresses had felt a little more friendly than they should have for two people who'd just met yesterday…

It was almost completely dark outside now save for the faint light of the almost full moon shining through the trees and the stars above. I have a great deal of patients, but this was beginning to get a bit ridiculous. Plus, _his hand was still on my neck._

_And_ he still hadn't broken eye contact. I was mildly impressed with that, but I'd out stared him before and I would lay here staring back at him until he looked away or I fell asleep from boredom.

He was just crouched there, staring right back at me with his hand on my neck from when I'd caught him. I was tempted to try to start a conversation with the more boring of Uchiha brothers, but that would mean admitting I couldn't wait him out.

My mind stared to wander off as the first rays of moonlight flitted into the little clearing the Wreck was in. Thirty to forty-five minutes had to have passed by now and we were both still both completely, boringly _motionless._ Sharingan eyes may be interesting, but they get boring after staring into them for so long.

_Plus Itachi's better looking…_

I have an inner pervert, but I don't let that part of me out very often. Kinda like my inner monster, my temper. I actually created a character for my stories based on my temper, he appears in my sketchpad every once in a while when I'm especially pissed. It's probably not normal, but doing that made for great story characters.

A flicker of yellow-green light flashed at the corner of my vision and it took a great deal of self control not to turn and look at the lightning bugs that were starting to appear. There weren't very many of them here in the woods, but I knew that if I went back to my house I'd find the yard practically lit up with the things and if I really wanted to see a show I could always go over to John's cow pasture.

But of course Sasuke wanted to have this little staring contest and I couldn't. As if detecting my annoyance a slight smirk appeared on his face and my eyes narrowed ever so slightly in response. I debated on whacking him right then and there for that when a better idea occurred…

I let a devious smirk curl my lips up causing Sasuke to frown back with narrowed eyes before _finally_ speaking, "What are you planning?"

I grinned wider at that and blurted the first outrageous thing that came to mind, "How to seduce your brother for a night of wild passionate sex."

His head jerked backwards as his eyes widened and his jaw dropped. Possibly the most entertaining expression I had ever seen Sasuke make occurred as a mix between shock and 'WTF?' I couldn't keep my face straight any longer as I started laughing, hard with the occasional snorting intake of air.

It took me a few moments to get myself under control. When I finally looked back at Sasuke he was wearing a disgusted expression as he looked down at me with both elbows resting on his knees. His glare worried me a little, but I brushed that emotion aside and grinned cheekily at him, "Just kidding."

I was a little surprised when he rolled his eyes and shook his head slightly as he looked away. I'd won my staring contest after all. I grinned at that and sat up with my legs in a pretzel in front of me and my arms straight behind me braced against the roof holding me up. I watched him for a moment before looking out into the darkened woods, my eyes flicking from firefly to firefly as they flashed their butts.

"So what'd you come back to ask me?" I asked seriously in a soft tone.

He stiffened beside me and I could feel his eyes boring into the side of my head, but I wasn't in the mood for another staring contest. A long silence followed but I could wait that out. I was surprised when he sighed in resignation and joined me sitting pretzel style on the roof of the Wreck.

"You know about my brother," He finally spoke. It wasn't in question form, but he wanted it answered like one. That irked me a little bit, but I brushed it aside as I nodded in reply. He sighed in annoyance, "But you won't tell me anything."

I could feel his anger building and I sighed this time, "It's not my place Sasuke, but I am surprised you haven't figured it out yet. You know he wasn't telling the truth and you still can't find the holes in his story."

"Holes?" Sasuke asked sounding subdued and a bit surprised.

"Holes," I agreed with a nod then went silent. I wasn't going to say anything else and I was pretty sure Sasuke knew that judging by the sudden sigh he gave, but I decided to surprise him. A little bit more wouldn't hurt, "But you will."

I said softly, my tone sad. I saw him open his mouth from the corner of my eye and I shook my head. He shut his mouth and glared, "I'm not saying anything else. Be happy with that."

I quirked up the left corner of my mouth where he couldn't see from my right side. I reached up and picked up the bag of Cheetos and held the open bag towards him after sticking a couple in my mouth.

He arched a brow at me, which made me take note that he'd turned his Sharingan off. I blinked in slight surprise but shook the bag of Cheetos at him again as I chewed the few in my mouth. Sasuke hesitates for a long moment, long enough for me to finish the few Cheetos I'd selected before slowly reaching into the bag and pulling out a few for himself.

I grin in victory before setting the bag down between us so we could both eat. I snatched a few more and continued to eat while watching the lightning bugs. I was pleased that Sasuke seemed to be relaxed around me, but I couldn't help but think he was just waiting to grill me for more information. Information that I wouldn't give.

"How did you do it?" Sasuke asked suddenly.

I blinked and looked at him to meet Sharingan eyes again, "Do what?"

_Shit! I know I'm walking into a verbal trap here! Damn it!_

"When I first appeared you did _something_ that allowed Itachi to escape," He clarified, "What was it?"

I glared at him and let my sudden irritation rip through me as I growled softly under my breath and shifted so I faced away from him, "None of your business."

"It is when it concerns my brother," Sasuke answered in what he probably thought was a dangerous tone.

All it served to do was make my temper spike even more. We'd almost had a _moment_ and now here Sasuke was going to go and ruin it! I was tempted to snip back at him with, 'Yeah, but how well do you really know your brother?' or 'So? I know your brother better than you do.'

But neither of those comments would solve anything so I said nothing at all.

Giving up on whatever moment Sasuke and I might have briefly had I stood up and jumped to the ground. Shoving my hands in my pockets I started walking slowly back towards the house. I didn't really want to face everyone there again yet, but I was tired of dealing with Sasuke too.

Said person suddenly appeared directly in front of me. He was close enough that I could feel his body heat as our clothing brushed against eat other though our bodies didn't touch. I froze with surprise that quickly switched to burning anger that made the beast stir.

I was most displeased that Sasuke was taller than I was. It wasn't much, but I did have to tilt my head back ever so slightly to meet his glare with my own. His Sharingan met my brown eyes that I knew showed my anger, which was the natural response for someone invading personal space. But then I did something I'd never done before.

I reached out and called out to my inner monster.

I didn't use a specific thought when I did though, like when I talk to Kasugami. No, this was different. I just reached out with the _need_ and _willed_ my monster to rise to the surface. I _ordered_ it to come out, almost like when I command my superpowers but I didn't use a separate thought for it. It was more like an emotion than a thought.

And the monster _came._

With it came raw, wild _power._ Power that I could feel flooding my veins until it cracked on my very skin. What also came unbridled anger and rage that I could taste on my tongue and turned my vision red. It was overwhelming…

Whatever had emerged as my temper all those years ago hadn't been this strong. This was something different. I felt myself being mentally shoved aside. Some_thing_ was in my head with me. Fear shot through me as I realized that and I roared my defiance within the confines of my mind.

_GET OUT!! GET OUT!! GET OUT OF MY HEAD!!_

I snarled and shoved back, pushing against this force with everything I had. I didn't know what it was and I didn't care. All I knew is that it was trying to lock _me_ away the same way I locked _it_ away and I was _not_ going to let that happen!

_GET _BACK_!!_

I heard faint murmuring then, like someone yelling from far away, but I couldn't understand them. Whoever it was though, they were angry. I had a sinking feeling that whoever, _whatever_ was yelling was the monster. I squashed the sudden fear of sharing my head with something and replaced it with my will of iron.

This was _my_ head, _my_ body, and hell will freeze over before I let _anyone _or _anything_ take over! I roared my defiance and kept pushing pulling strength I didn't know I had to use. Finally I felt it's hold slipping and I pushed harder if it were possible. I was _not_ giving up!

A rush of pure rage rushed over me then and I paused a moment in brief surprise. As if detecting my surprise the monster surged up again. I shoved my shock aside and redoubled my efforts. It had gained a little ground there, but a little seemed like a lot in my mindscape.

I already knew I had no choice but to win. I didn't know what would happen if I lose, but I knew it wouldn't be good.

I kept forcing more of my will and another also unknown power against my inner monster. I didn't know where the other power came from, only that it was on _my_ side and it wanted _me_ to win. I kept pulling the power from my unknown benefactor and pushing it against my inner monster.

This new power was replacing the monster's, not it was pumping into my veins and crackling pleasantly on my skin. I took that as a sign that I was winning and pushing all the harder for my victory. The monster sent one final flash of rage over me before retreating back to the far corner of my mind where I visualized wrapping it in chains and locking in a cellar.

The other power was gone too. I hadn't even noticed until I looked for it after locking away the monster and it wasn't there. In a way, I was relieved I hadn't known where it came from or what it was other than it wanted to help. I was also disappointed since I didn't get to examine it at all.

I sighed in relief, my mind was my own again.

"Ali?" A voice asked.

I came back to myself to find that at some point I'd dropped to my knees and had been clutching my head with my eyes squeezed shut. I swallowed as I opened my eyes and the feeling of warm liquid trickling down my chin told me I'd bitten my lip hard enough to make it bleed.

My tongue automatically came out to lick some of the blood away and I wiped more away onto the back of my hand and then wiped my hand on my jeans. I sucking in a deep breath of air through my nose and looked up to find all my house guests loosely crowded around me.

I blinked, I didn't know who'd spoken, but I answered anyway, "Yeah?"

There was a semi-collective sight then before Jiraiya spoke up, "Are you alright?"

I nodded, "Fine… Why?"

I was really setting myself up with that one, but I didn't particularly care at the moment.

"We felt and enormous chakra spike all the way from the house and it wasn't the Uchiha's…" Pein spoke while glaring at me.

My head snapped at him and my eyes narrowed right back. After dealing with the monster my patients was _gone_ and I wasn't in the mood to take crap from the _fake_ Akatsuki leader. I normally would have been a bit more polite than what I was going to be, but I was past caring as I replied, "That's nice, do you want a cookie?"

The silence that fallowed was thick enough I could have cut it with a kunai. I was being a bitch and I really could care less. I was that way to anyone who thought that they could pull out this superior shit and expect me to roll over and play dead. Plus he had the nerve to insult me in my own territory which was a big _'no, no.'_

"I suggest you watch your tone…" Pein threatened in a dangerously soft voice.

"I can't, its sound," I replied without missing a beat. The tension went up again at that and I knew it, but all I did was watch Pein with half lidded eyes without blinking.

"Ali…" Jiraiya said my name, his tone wary and somewhat concerned but I kept my eyes on Pein. He was my real concern for the moment and we both knew it. I had just showed him up without breaking a sweat and from the look on his face he was definitely _not_ happy.

"What happened back here?" Pein asked.

I mentally sighed. By speaking like that he had, probably unknowingly, conceded defeat. I sighed aloud them and shook my head as I changed positions, moving to sit with my legs in a pretzel and my elbows on my knees as I closed my eyes.

"I don't know."

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**Mmmm... I don't think that was much of a cliffhanger, but I kinda feel like I'm leaving you guys hanging...**

**But the plot's getting nice and juicy though, right?**

**I love reveiws!!**


	17. I Fear Being Weak

**So yeah, this is another one that I wasn't happy with the title...**

**But I have good news! Or it might be bad in some of your opinions...**

**Anyway, I got my muse back!! Woo! I also had lots of freetime when I got it and I'm about halfway through chapter nineteen. Yet I'm only posting chapter seventeen now. XD**

**Oh, OTURAN IKAMUZU you're going to hate me as I've decided I _like_ leaving cliffhangers since they get me more reviews. Heh, meaning I'm going to try to start using them more often... But there won't be one for a couple chapters I don't think.**

**Words: 2, 809(I think that's a new record for me!)**

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**CrossWorlds ~ Part One ~ The Beginning ~ Chapter Seventeen ~ I Fear Being Weak**

I did, and did not know what had happened, but I wasn't about to tell anyone here that. Well, maybe Itachi and Kisame but that was going to have to wait until I actually felt up to talking about it. I felt completely exhausted at the moment…

"What do you mean _'I don't know'_!?" Tsunade snapped with narrowed eyes and clenched fists as she took a threatening step forward.

"Exactly what I said, are you having a hard time hearing?" I snapped back. If I hadn't already shoved the monster to the far corners of my mind and locked the damned thing up I would've worry about it breaking loose. That didn't mean I was a pushover either. I'd told Tsunade before that I was Queen Bitch here and I wasn't going to let her forget it anytime soon.

"How dare you speak to me that way!" Tsunade shouted back.

I curled my lip ever so slightly in return, but kept my voice level, "I think I should be the one asking that question. How dare _you_ speak to _me_ like that in my _home_?"

I felt the monster twitching in its new prison. I snarled mentally at it and it quieted down instantly, though I could feel it watching, waiting for a chance to attempt to take over. I knew I wouldn't ever be willingly calling it forward again unless I was in mortal peril though.

"She has a point Tsunade…" Jiraiya attempted to placate the Slug Sannin while placing a restraining hand on her shoulder.

"Yeah, plus Ali-chan probably doesn't feel so good," Tobi chirped in my defense. I was briefly grateful for it when I reminded myself that this was Madara Uchiha and he probably had his own motives, but I couldn't let him know that I knew that.

So instead I smiled tiredly, first and Jiraiya then Tobi, "Thanks," Then I looked at Tsunade and Pein and sighed with a tired smile, "I am sorry for snapping at you, but like Tobi said I don't feel good… I'm taking a shower and going to bed."

I pushed myself slowly to my feet then. I wobbled ever so slightly and put a hand on the nearest tree for support as the world around me tilted at strange angles. That made me slightly irritated at myself. I'm a rollercoaster person and I was dizzy! I _shouldn't_ be feeling like this!

I drew my eyebrows together in concentration and stepped forward. I swayed slightly. I would _not_ look weak in front of them. I took a few more slow steps forward, my vision still swimming, but I was determined to make it to my house without help.

I didn't get my wish though.

Pressure behind my knees made be fall backwards for a short distance but my shoulders met a bar of sorts after less than a couple inches. I was jerked up sharply as the bar of pressure behind my knees and shoulders adjusted. The sudden movement forced my hands against my stomach as I found myself being carried bridal style by the tallest of the Akatsuki himself, Hoshigaki Kisame.

I gave a startled squeak and grabbed his cloak with both hands; my left hand reaching across my stomach to clutch in the vicinity of his chest while my arm actually hooked over his shoulder and fisting in the cloak on his back. Then the great ogre had the nerve to chuckle at me.

"What do you think you're doing!?" I demanded and promptly began to squirm in his grasp. Kisame chuckled again and merely tightened his hold as he grinned down at me.

"You're exhausted," Kisame told me while grinning, "So I'm carrying you back."

I was probably tomato red by that time, but I gave up squirming and relaxed slightly in his hold. Meaning I loosened my hold on his cloak, but I was still stiff in his arms. No one had _ever_ held me before, let alone carried me.

I saw the rest of my houseguests start making their way towards the house with Kisame and Itachi somewhere in the middle. The gentle rocking motion as Kisame carried me was rather nice I decided as I finally released his cloak and leaned my head against his chest.

_It's been a looong day…_

I was fairly close to falling asleep when Kisame jostled me slightly, just enough to wake me up. I looked up at his face and caught the slight twitch of his eyes in Itachi's direction where he was walking beside him. I gave a slightly longer than normal blink in understanding and tiredly reached out for my power over Time…

_**Please stop.**_

With Time stopped I found myself in an unmoving Kisame's arms which were surprisingly comfortable. I could almost fall asleep… But they had wanted to talk to me. I sighed and looking up at Kisame I _willed_ him to _not_ be stopped.

It worked and he stopped to look down at me. I gave a tired smile and lifted my head to look at Itachi. I strained slightly and _willed_ him to _not_ be frozen too. I was surprised when it didn't work so I extended a foot to poke his shoulder with my toe and then _willed_ him _not_ to be frozen again.

I sighed in relief when he blinked and looked at me as I let my foot drop, "Seemingly if I'm tired I have to touch you for it to work…"

I grinned sleepily at him as my exhaustion kept mounting. At this rate I'd be asleep before we got back to my house. Not that I'd mind, falling asleep in Kisame's arms might be kinda nice…

"What happened between you and Sasuke-kun Ali?" Itachi asked quietly.

I blinked and yawned before I answered, "I'm not sure. I was getting irritated with him asking about you and what happened the day he appeared and he was getting mad with me not telling him," I sighed and rubbed my forehead, "There've been times before… Times when I've gotten angry enough that it feels like something takes over. Usually I can keep… _It_ locked up in the back of my head. I don't like myself when I'm like that…" I closed my eyes and sucked in air before continued, "I don't know why, but I… I reached out and _called_ to it to me and it… came."

"You don't know what it is?" Kisame asked, his chest vibrating as his voice rumbled in my ears. I shook my head against his chest with my eyes still closed.

"No, it'd never been that strong before," I hunched my shoulders slightly, "Usually I can still tell what's going on around me enough that I can… That I can shove it back. This time…" I shook my head again, "This time it felt like there was… _More_ of it and it wanted out. I was... I didn't know what was going on…"

"Fear isn't something to be ashamed of Ali," Itachi murmured softly.

I opened my eyes then to look at him knowing I looked tired and miserable and that I probably felt worse than I looked. I closed my eyes again and leaned my head against Kisame's chest again as I whispered, "I know... I just hate myself for being afraid."

"Why?" Kisame asked, sounding slightly confused.

_Why indeed…_

I sighed and opened my eyes slightly as my eyebrows drew together slightly, "I don't know how to explain it…"

That wasn't the complete truth and they probably both knew it. I probably could explain it if I really wanted to, but the fact that I felt I had to be strong for myself since I didn't have anyone to lean on sounded silly to me. Granma had been the person that I leaned on when I needed a shoulder to cry on, my base, my rock. Ever since she had died I've had to stand alone on my own two feet. Fear feels like a weakness and I hate showing a weakness to anyone…

"You're afraid of showing a weakness," Itachi stated, sounding slightly exasperated. I jumped in Kisame's arms and stared at him with wide eyes feeling completely vulnerable. I stared at him for several long moments before lowering my eyes. He'd caught me.

"Yeah," I answered after several long moments. In a strange way I was relieved he understood. I relaxed against Kisame again and smiled slightly to myself, "Something like that."

I didn't know how to tell them how glad I was that they understood and weren't rejecting me for it. They didn't seem to even think there was anything wrong with being afraid of showing a weakness from the look that they traded.

"There's nothing wrong with that," Kisame grinned down at me and I smiled tiredly back, "If you'd been born in a village I imagine you would've made a good ninja Ali."

I smiled again, "Thanks Kisame," I breathed out, "Thank you both, now you better get ready for me to let Time go again… I don't know if it'll stay stopped if I fall asleep…"

Kisame vibrated in a short laugh, "Welcome kid."

"Whenever you're ready then Ali," Itachi said quietly.

I nodded and released my hold on Time as my eyelids drifted closed I felt Kisame moving again. A low vibration in my ear told me that he was… Humming. I wouldn't have pictured Kisame as the humming type, but it was relaxing enough that I really didn't care. I sighed as I began to drift in that 'almost asleep, but not quite' place, yet anyone looking would think I was asleep and I was aware of what was going on around me.

"Is she asleep?" A low whispery voice asked and I dimly realized it was Orochimaru. I didn't like the Snake Man being concerned for my welfare, but if he thought I was sleeping there was more of a chance I might hear something useful in case he let something slip…

"Yeah," Kisame rumbled in my ear, but he didn't sound happy to be speaking to Orochimaru.

"Perhaps we should put a seal on her to monitor the strange chakra she has," The Snake Man suggested silkily to where I could _hear_ the damned smirk in his voice. The hand crossed across my stomach against Kisame's chest twitched, letting him know I was awake and paying attention. His arms tightened briefly around me in reply to let me know that he understood.

"I don't think Ali-chan would like that very much," Tobi spoke up from somewhere on Kisame's left which was also above my head. I felt a bit of relief at that, if Madara was defending me against the Snake Man's suggestion then the rest of the Akatsuki would fall in behind him.

I heard Hidan laugh then, "Yeah, I think if that bitch got pissed off bad enough she could probably kick your ass Snake Man!"

_He used my nickname for Orochimaru…_

I was a bit smug at that. Most of the time I just get pissed when people steal my nicknames for people or copy off me, but I knew Hidan had done it both because he liked disrespecting Orochimaru and he wanted to piss the Snake Man off. If I hadn't been feigning sleep I probably would have giggle aloud.

Instead I settled for laughing silently, my shoulders and sides vibrating gently. Kisame's arms tightened momentarily around me, probably telling me to knock it off before someone noticed though I could feel his chest shaking with suppressed laughter too. Hidan was always good for a laugh.

"I doubt that little girl would ever prove to be much of a threat," Orochimaru replied loftily, obviously irritated with Hidan's comment.

'_Little girl?' If I wasn't pretending to be sleeping I'd kick your ass right now Snake Man!_

I snarl mentally as my shoulders tightened in anger, another slight squeeze from Kisame reminded me to behave myself. I slowly counted to ten in my head and forced my muscles to relax, though I was still a bit angry.

"I think Ali would have made a good ninja if she'd been born in a village in our world, un," Deidara defended me, "If we trained her a little bit she could probably be one anyway."

_Now _there's _an idea!_

That was an interesting idea and I wondered if I _could_ learn some ninja tricks. If my Granma really was from their world, then there was no reason that I shouldn't be able to at least learn a few small jutsus. I was already a black belt in my karate class so I was fairly certain that taijutsu wouldn't be a problem.

"Why would we want to train her? She's been nothing but rude since we got here," Tsunade snapped.

I twitched slightly, I had apologized and she was still pissed at me! I mentally sighed, we hadn't gotten off on a good foot and now it was coming back to bite me…

_I'll try to make more of an effort to be nice to her tomorrow._

"You were sort of rude to her first Tsunade," Jiraiya mumbled, "She's had a pretty rough week, then we appear on top of it all. Maybe lighten up a little bit…"

_Aww… You big softy…_

I made a mental note to hug Jiraiya sometime in the near future. As long as he didn't try to grope me he wouldn't get hurt. I did feel pretty loved after his defense though.

"I think we should see how she does with basics before we talk of truly training her," Itachi spoke up. I agreed with that, I wanted to find out if I actually _could_ learn ninja arts before I got my hopes up to high… But I was confident I could.

"I don't think we should," That was Sasuke. I tensed up again in anger and I felt my chest vibrate with a silent growl, "She seems too unstable to handle learning ninja techniques."

_Me unstable! You're the unstable one you revenge obsessed _bastard!!

I spat mentally. I _so_ wanted to drop my feigned sleep and slap that emo bastard across the face! I'd show _him_ unstable right before I pried his eyes out with a spork!! Well, not really, but the visualizations made me feel better.

Kisame chest vibrated silently back at me in warning as his arms tightened briefly around me. I stopped growling and focused on letting my muscles relax again. Sasuke was _so_ on my list now, maybe a little blackmailing was in order… I could dig up all kinds of dirt on him if I really wanted to. Plus Sasuke's not hard to make fun of, there're all kinds of insults I could use on the internet.

I felt fairly pleased with that. All I had to do was wait to make a comment about him kissing Naruto to shut him up. Or I could get him _and_ Orochimaru by mention that he doesn't mind the Snake Man taking over his body. My sides shook with repressed laughter at that and my lips curled into a deviously cattish smile. Oh what fun I was going to have…

"I think Ali-chan is stronger than she's letting onto," Tobi said in a thoughtful voice and I felt Kisame tense slightly.

_Oh really? Do tell Madara…_

"What do you mean by that? **She's seems fairly average to us**," Zetsu spoke up.

"Well, she's dealing with those mean girls at her school and protecting her friend from them and then she's looking after us," Tobi answered, "And I doubt we're the easiest charges to look after. Then her parents aren't around to take care of her so she has to take care of herself and her life before we dropped in didn't sound like it was easy in the first place…"

Silence followed Tobi's statement and I silently cursed him. I'd been working at trying to make the majority of them underestimate me!

_Damn you to hell Madara Uchiha!_

I waited for someone to say something else, but the rest of the walk was silent. I could picture everyone turning _that_ over in their heads and probably re-evaluating their opinions of me. I mentally sighed, there was nothing I could do about it now…

_Ugh… And I have to go _shopping_ in the morning… Oh _joy…

Was my last thought before I drifted off to sleep…

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**So who's excited about the shopping adventure? *giggles* **

**I'm already entertained and I'm still writing it!! XD**


	18. Wake Up Call

**I'm kinda depressed right now, just real life stuff mostly but I had this pre-typed from at least a week ago so here ya go... It's kind of a filler though...**

**Words: 2,080**

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**CrossWorlds ~ Part One ~ The Beginning ~ Chapter Eighteen ~ Wake Up Call**

_*Beep beep beep*_

I came back to the world of the living with my alarm clock beeping at me to get up, my head throbbing in time to my alarm clock's wakeup call. I groaned and pulled my pillow over my head, trying to block out the annoying sound…

_*Beep beep beep*_

I growled and scrunched my eyes shut and held the pillow most tightly around my head, trying to will the sound to go _away_. Of course it didn't listen…

_*Beep beep beep*_

My hand came up and felt around for the source of all evil and punched the 'Snooze' button. I smiled to myself in triumph, but it was short lived when the noise didn't stop…

_*Beep beep beep*_

I sat up with an angry snarl. My pillow tumbled down my back as I _seized_ that damned thing and threw it backwards over my head with at much force as I could at that angle. It was silenced in mid-beep and ended its existence against the wall with a solid bang and felt to the floor with a thump.

I sighed at my newfound silence as my head's pounding lessoned. I retrieved my pillow and flipped it over so the cool side was up before burying my face in its cool, soft fluffyness with another sigh as a gentle smile made my lips curl up ever so slightly.

_Thank God for Saturdays…_

I was in the middle of convincing my throbbing head that it really didn't hurt all that bad and I was about to fall back asleep when I heard my door being slowing opened. A ray of light from the hallway fell on my face and I opened my eyes to slits and _growled_ in annoyance.

"Are you killing someone in here? **Cause I'm more than happy to help you clean up the mess…**" I knew it was Zetsu by the two different voice tones.

"I'm going to kill you if you don't get out of my room and let me sleep," I growled out before rolling over and pulling the covers over my head.

Zetsu chuckled but he didn't leave as he spoke again, "The others would like to know how you are feeling this morning. **So you need to get up and go tell them."**

I groaned and pulled the covers down far enough to glare at him, "_You_ can go tell them I'm tired and my head hurts and to leave me the heck alone."

"**I'm not your messenger.** They would like to speak to see you in persona Ali," Zetsu persisted, seemingly unbothered by my obvious grouchiness.

"I don't care," I growled back, "I want to sleep."

"**Get your ass up girl.** They will think worse of us if we return without you," He insisted again.

_Girl?_

"Fuck you," I answered as I pulled the covers back over my head and rolled over with my back to him.

"**Is that an offer?"** Zetsu's darker half asked in a voice I identified as a purr. His lighter half didn't get a chance to say anything as I gave an angry snarl that was no doubt heard downstairs before I threw my pillow at him.

"_Get the _hell_ out of my room!!"_ I shouted angrily, half standing up in my bed after launching my pillow at him.

He caught my pillow one handed and regarded me with a perplexed expression and looked down pointedly. I followed his gaze and took note that he was still in the hallway. I raised my eyes to glare at him as my lip curled slightly and a low growl rumbled in my chest.

I gave up and swung my feet to the floor.

I snatched my pillow from him and tossed it back on the bed before moving past him and began trudging towards the stairs. A warm breath stirred the hair on the back of my neck as Zetsu's darker half spoke again,** "Maybe later then…"**

I admit the hair on the back of my neck stood up at that. I was both horrified and secretly flattered. Horrified because someone was suggesting I sleep with them, yet flattered because I knew Zetsu's personality from the manga and I knew he didn't usually trust people enough to joke with them.

I didn't want to hurt his feelings, but a comment like that _had_ to have a comeback. I grumbled unintelligibly before actually speaking, "I think you're a bit old for me."

Okay, I knew it was lame before I said anything, but I'm not at my best when I first wake up. I shoved my hands in my pockets as I walked down the stairs, taking note that no one had changed my clothes and I still had on jeans and t-shirt. Perhaps not the most comfortable thing to sleep in, but I was grateful no one actually _had_ changed my clothes. I have issues with people seeing me in a swimming suit, let alone in my underwear!

A low chuckle met my words which made me grimace where Zetsu couldn't see. Did I just flirt with him?

I didn't bother saying anything to that as I had reached the stairs and started down them. I was already grumpy at having been woken up, but Zetsu… _Flirting with me_ hadn't helped my mood. By the time I got down the stairs my headache had worsened considerably and I was in no mood to be nice.

"What the hell is so important that I had to get up at the ass crack of dawn?" I demanded as soon as I was in hearing range as I glared around the room.

"We need to figure out what happened yesterday with the strange chakra you emitted," Jiraiya answered after a short silence, "We want Tsunade and Sakura to do a medical analysis of-"

"No," I cut him off.

"What do you mean 'no'?" Tsunade answered in a tight voice.

I resisted asking her how her hearing was again, remembering that I _was_ making an effort to be nicer to her. Instead I pushed my grouchiness to the side and sighed, "I don't want you and Sakura doing your medical thing on me."

Both Tsunade and Sakura scowled at me for that, but I couldn't really bring myself to care. Sakura was the one who spoke up this time, "Why not?"

"I don't think my body's up to it," I shrugged, my grouchiness draining away to be replaced with plain tiredness, "That flash, surge, spike, or whatever you wanna call it was more than I wanted and I don't feel up to trying it again."

"We won't know until we try…" Tsunade answered while advancing on me with her hand up while I backed up, "Just hold still Ali…," She persisted in an annoyed voice, "It won't hurt…"

"You don't know that," I answered, but I had a good idea that it would. Whether it was instinct, my own knowledge, or something the monster was telling me I didn't know, but I knew I did _not_ want either Tsunade or Sakura to touch me.

"I've got a right to try!" She snapped and darted forward to try to catch me off guard.

I jumped backwards once and twice to the side and behind someone in an Akatsuki cloak, "No you don't," I answered in a stony voice, "You don't have permission to touch me and I'm not granting it any time soon."

Tsunade had stopped and was glaring at me as I peeked out from behind my cloaked savior. I glanced up to see who I'd hidden behind to meet Hidan's annoyed light pink eyes. I grinned sheepishly at him as he rolled his eyes, "You seriously think I'm going to cover your ass?"

"Do you want me to feed you?" I asked in return.

He grimaced at that, but I knew I had him as he turned her head the other way, grumbling under his breath. I grinned in victor and looked back at the Slug Sannin with a raised eyebrow, "Well, are you going to keep your hands to yourself?"

I knew that sounded perverted before I even said it, but that was the idea. Jiraiya obviously got it if his snort of amusement and Tsunade scowled at me a moment later but nodded in agreement. I looked at Sakura and quirked the opposite eyebrow at her as I let the other one drop, "That means you too."

Her eyes narrowed at me before she looked away and crossed her arms, "Fine."

Lastly, I looked at Orochimaru and glared, "Kabuto learned had to learn his medical know-how from _somewhere_ so that means 'no touchie' to you too."

The Snake Man glared back at me with his hateful yellow snake-eyes. I met and held them with no intention of looking away until he did. Of everyone in the room it was _him_ I trusted the least since he was the biggest traitor in the group after betraying first Konoha then the Akatsuki.

Madara didn't have a good track record either, but I was pretty sure his goal was Konoha's destruction so as long as I stayed out of his way he wouldn't bother me. The fact that I was pretending I didn't know that he _was_ really Madara Uchiha was helpful too. Plus he was using Sasuke for that since Sasuke seems like he's pretty easy to manipulate.

"Very well," He finally agreed, neither sounding nor looking very happy.

I grinned at that and glanced up at the clock…

_8:30… If I go now I can just beat the noon rush…_

"Good. Now I'm going to clean up and then I'm going to town to do some shopping," I told them and started for the stairs without waiting for a reply.

I went up the stairs and down the hall to my room and shut the door with my foot behind me. I grinned to myself in the safety of my room, feeling pretty proud of myself. I'd told off Orochimaru and thrown Tsunade and Sakura off examining me fore while.

_I only hope I can figure out what's going on with me before they decide it's been long to actually _try_ an examination…_

I frowned at that as I striped off the clothes I'd worn yesterday in favor of clean ones. I pulled on a clean pair of jeans and stood staring at my closet as I tried to decide what color I was feeling today. I'm one of those people whose favorite color changes from day to day and I color coded my closet at one point due to that and boredom.

_I'm feeling… Blue._

Not as in sad blue, but I like blue. Even though my mood wasn't wonderful wearing a color that I liked might help it improve a little bit. I leafed through my blue shirts and settled on my 'Finding Nemo' shirt. It faded from dark blue at the bottom to light blue at the top with most of the characters on it.

I grinned as I pulled it on as scenes from the movie flashed though my head. I also suddenly got the mental image of Kisame reciting the shark's motto, 'Fish are friends, not food.' I snorted at that as I redid my pony tail and slipped on a pair of sandals before going to the bathroom and washing my face.

I was pleased to see that my bruises were almost completely gone, I've always healed fast. I applied makeup to cover what was left up since walking into Wal-Mart with a bruised face would generate questions I wouldn't want to answer. I slipped my class ring on my right middle finger and another ring with a fairly large stone that stuck up on my left middle finger as an afterthought.

_This way if I have to hit someone they'll stay down when I do it._

I grinned at that as I turned the light off, grabbed my purse out of my room and walked downstairs. I frowned when I found my house guests waiting for me looking serious as Pein spoke, "You're not going alone."

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**Haha... Cliffhanger... :)**


	19. Shopping Trip

**I'M BAAAACK!!!**

**My beloved Tomoko has been returned to me! *hugs laptop* My grounding is over, but I have some bad news, I'm going to a church camp this week so it will probably be next Thursday before you guys get another chapter, but this one is my longest one yet so be happy!! I was thrilled when I checked my email and 22 out of 23 messages were fanfiction related!!**

**Thanks everyong!! *huggles***

**OTURAN IKAMUZU - Yep, my laptop is named Tomoko, my iPod is named Sophie, and my cell phone is named Howie. ^_^ You should get my email off my profile and drop me a line sometime so I can give you better replies to your reviews!!**

**Inner Sakura - Ice cream? *perks up* Yay ice cream!! XD**

**Words- 3,080 (!!)**

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**CrossWorlds ~ Part One ~ The Beginning ~ Chapter Nineteen ~ Shopping Trip**

My eyebrow twitched at Pein giving _me_ an order, but I saw the logic in it. Plus it might be fun to show one of them around town… That made me smirk evilly and I felt them tense in anticipation for an argument.

"Sure," I answered, "It'll be… Interesting to see how one of you reacts to _my_ world."

There was a bit of stunned silence after that and I couldn't help the silent laugh that shook my shoulders.

_I might have to do a little extra shopping just to freak whoever goes with me out…_

Which made me realize that I'd have to be careful of who I took, most of them would stand out to much. I looked over my gathered minions as I made a mental list of who would and who wouldn't be okay for me to take.

Kisame, Zetsu, Orochimaru, Pein, Kakuzu, Jiraiya, Tobi, Sakura, and Konan were definitely out. They'd draw _way_ to much attention. That left me with Hidan, Deidara, Itachi, Sasuke, and Tsunade.

There was no way I was taking Tsunade. We _definitely_ didn't get along well enough to go on a shopping trip that would last over an hour, probably longer. Plus there was the purple diamond on her forehead that I had neglected to notice. So she was definitely out.

Sasuke and I were not on good terms with each other either, so he was out too.

Itachi was too well known. He and Kisame had both already appeared in the anime and there had been a poster at Wal-Mart of them so there was a chance someone might recognize him.

Hidan would have been fun to take, but I was a bit worried he might try to sacrifice someone and his mouth would probably get us thrown out of the store.

That left me with Deidara. I didn't think he'd try to blow anyone up and since he was the same height as I was he wouldn't stand out too much…

"One?" Pein asked, finally catching on.

I rolled my eyes, "Duh, I don't really have room in my car to take all of you and bring have enough room to get all the food I have to get in there plus having…" I did a quick count in my head, "Fourteen of you following me around isn't exactly subtle."

Jiraiya nodded at that, "Makes sense," He glanced around at the gathered ninja then, "But now the question is who's going with you?"

"Deidara is," I answered after a short moment when a few of them glanced between each other. Eyes flicked back to me, some with startled expressions. Deidara in particular was wide eyed.

"Why does Ali-chan want Deidara-sempai to go?" Tobi asked curiously, I could almost feel Madara's interest.

"Because he'll attract the least amount of attention," I answered as I ran my eyes up and down Deidara's form, "Plus you're about the same size as me so you can probably fit into my clothes, but-"

"I'm not pretending to be a girl!" Deidara cut me off, sounding highly offended.

I rolled my eyes and gestured to myself in t-shirt and jeans, "This is kinda unisex, but you'll have to change your hair style or people might think you're gay or bi."

He looked a bit skeptical for a moment before nodding in agreement.

"I did not give him permission to go," Pein's voice cut in.

I slowly turned to look at him with cool, level eyes, "I didn't ask for it."

Silence followed as I stared back at Pein with a closed face. No _one_ told _me_ what to do. His eyes narrowed at my tone and words, but I really didn't care. The only good thing about having people who hated each other in my house was that when I got into a fight with one group the other would back me up.

"Fine," Pein answered coldly, "If you are not back in two hours we are coming after you."

I shook my head, "It's be at least three," I answered as I walked towards the stairs with Deidara following, "Plus you wouldn't know where to start looking anyway."

I smirked where he couldn't see as I ascended the stairs with Deidara following me into my room. I tossed him a pair of jeans from my clean stack and a plain black belt. I pawed through my tee-shirts and grinned as I pulled out my Akatsuki shirt. It was simply black with their trademark red cloud on it. I tossed that to him as well and grinned as he held it up and examined it.

I slid my other closet door open and considered shoe options. I glanced over my shoulder to find a very shirtless Deidara. I admit my mouth fell open slightly and had I been an anime character I would have had a major nosebleed at the sight. He was _gorgeous._

My eyes wandered over his toned chest and abs, lingering on the sealed mouth on his chest. I shut my mouth as I recalled that he would use it to blow himself up when he fought Sasuke in his ultimate expression of art.

"Like what you see, un?" Deidara asked slyly with a knowing smirk.

I blushed and looked away with a grin, "Actually, I do, but please wait until I get out of the room before you take anything else off."

_What is it with Akatsuki members flirting with me today?! First Zetsu, now Deidara!! And I flirted back!!_

He chuckled in amusement. I heard cloth rustle and resisted the urge to look again as my inner pervert ran wild with images of what Deidara would look like in his boxers, or would he wear briefs? I turned red at that thought and distracted myself by picking through my shoes to find a pair that might fit him.

I actually have a pair of men's flip-flops that are the most comfortable pair of sandals that I own. Luckily they were muted camouflage with black so they would go with his shirt okay. I pulled them out and turned around, "Here, these should work…"

I turned to find Deidara sitting on my bed fully dressed in my clothes. I frowned at him, "I told you to wait…" He chuckled at my slightly whiney tone as I dropped the flip-flop sandals at his feet, "Now for your hair… I think a pony-tail and a ball cap would work, though you're going to have to put _all_ your hair up and you can't wear your scope."

He scowled at me then and grumbled unintelligibly as he complied, which surprised me, I hadn't expected him to be so agreeable about it. While he arranged his hair I pulled out a plain black ball cap and put it on him as he finished his hair. I cast a critical eye over him and grinned, "Not bad Deidara, not bad at all."

He rolled his eyes and slipped on my flip-flops, "Thanks, un."

I grinned a bit wider at his sarcasm as I snagged my purse as I headed out the door with him following, "Try to drop the 'un' if you can too."

A grunt was his reply as we entered the dining room heading for the door. I paused and lifted a hand in a wave at my house guests who didn't look very amused as I grinned, "Back in a few hours, behave yourselves."

"If you're not back in two hours-" Pein began, but I cut him off.

"It'll be that at least, but if it's more don't get your panties in a knot I'll be back when I get back," I snapped with a ladling of sarcasm mixed in. Pein was just going to have to get used to the fact that I did _not_ take orders from him or anyone else.

_Okay, if Madara finds out I know who he is I might have to kiss up to him a little bit, but I can also threaten to tell the Jiraiya and Tsunade who he is._

Plus I was fairly certain if push came to shove that Itachi would fight him and Kisame would follow his lead. I didn't think Orochimaru was a fan of Madara either and Sasuke would help out too if I let the little bit that Madara was the real murderer of his clan slip out.

The tension in the room had gone up at my words, but several of them also looked like they were trying not to laugh so I merely smiled slightly and waited for Pein's response. I was quickly turning irritating the false Akatsuki leader into a game of sorts.

"We will come after you," Pein answered menacingly.

"Pft," I answered with a roll of my eyes, "No you won't. You wouldn't even know where to look. Plus the town we're going to would make Konoha look small and you guys would stick out like sore thumbs. Stay here, we'll be back later with food."

I waved as I walked out the door with Deidara following. We both climbed into the car and I put my seatbelt on with Deidara mimicking my movement and putting his seatbelt on too. I started the car, backed out of my parking spot, and away we went.

Once we were on the road I noticed Deidara got quiet as he watched the world go by. I smiled slightly to myself, "Nervous?"

I didn't look at him, but I could picture him looking a bit like a rabbit in the headlights. I could picture him shaking himself as he answered in a slightly offended voice, "No!"

I snorted in laughter, "Liar," I grinned, keeping my eyes on the road as I turned onto the main highway and houses became more frequent, "Just fallow my lead. Just trail after me looking like a last puppy and if anyone asks say you're my boyfriend visiting from out of town. Chances are we won't run into anyone, but just in case say you're from Greenville and you graduated from high school last year."

He was silent for a long minute as we actually entered town. Wal-Mart was on the other side of town from my high school so I turned left, heading west to the far side of town where most of The Vern's actual stores were. Sure Mt. Vernon was a fairly good sized town, but it was somewhat lop sided when it came to its shopping centers.

"So how old does that make me?" Deidara asked somewhat dejectedly.

I smiled slightly at that, "We'll go with nineteen. You look about that anyway."

A grunt was my reply as he turned his attention out the window again. I glanced at him again and grinned at the look of wonder and awe on his face. I turned into the Wal-Mart parking lot and found a moderately close spot in the first row of cars I turned down. Which was good since everything would be extra crowded because it was Saturday.

I shut the engine off and pocketed my keys as I grabbed my purse. I grinned at Deidara as I released my seatbelt, he actually looked nervous, "Just think of it as a Village's market in one big store."

He sighed as he unhooked his seatbelt as well and copied me as I opened my door and got out. I waited for him to join me behind the car and elbowed him playfully in the ribs, keeping it gentle, "C'mon, smile. You might even have fun!"

He gave me an irritated look that I returned with a cheeky grin as I hooked my arm with his. I was pretending he was my out of town boyfriend after all. Deidara looked at me questioningly and I grinned and whispered, "You're supposed to be pretending to be my boyfriend right?"

A grunt was his only reply as, unexpectedly, he grabbed my hand as we walked towards the store. I blushed slightly and guessed that the slightly raised area pressing against my palm was the mouth on that hand. I glanced up at his face to see a faint blush on _his_ face as well as he looked pointedly in the other direction.

I smiled lightly and did my best not to laugh at him. Even if I wasn't a Deidara fangirl I still didn't want to hurt his feelings. So into Wal-Mart we walked with me probably looking like a grinning idiot and Deidara looking slightly embarrassed.

_Heh, it probably looks like I just got laid…_

I really hoped I didn't see anyone I knew. It would be all over town by sundown and if my parents heard… I could just hear my mother going on about her and my father's reputations… I frowned slightly at that. At least I wouldn't look like I just got laid now.

I let go of his hand to grab a shopping cart and headed for the frozen food section. I gabbed pizza, ice cream, and an assortment of other foods that would be easy for me to fix. If I was going to have fifteen people under my roof I did not want to spend all my time making them food!

I went to snack foods next, getting chips, cookies, and candy of all types since all of them probably had different tastes. I didn't need to worry about vegetables since John's mom always gave me enough canned food to feed an army every year for helping her in her garden and his dad gave me hamburger for helping take can of the cattle every summer. Then I had deer, turkey, and other wild game from John taking me hunting. So I was set there.

I browsed the cereal aisle and grabbed some Cheerios, poptarts, and granola bars. A couple cases of Mt. Dew went on the rack under the cart and I got a couple different kinds of cheese and lunch meet at the produce people at the back of the store. I went down the bread aisle and got three loaves of white bread, if they didn't like it they didn't have to eat it.

_Oh yeah, if I'm right and Naruto comes today I'm going to need some ramen… And it wouldn't hurt if Jiraiya was back at the Wreck to find him…_

I stopped to the side of the bread aisle and parked the cart as I pulled my cell and called home. Three rings and the answering machine picked up, I rolled my eyes with a slight smile, "It's me. Hey Jiraiya, I think I have an idea of who might show up today and-"

"Who?" Pein's voice sudden answered as he picked up the phone.

I sighed, "Am I on speaker phone?" He didn't answer and I rolled my eyes with a frown, "Can everyone hear me?"

"We can hear you Ali-chan," Tobi answered somewhat faintly.

"Thanks," I replied, "Okay, I've been thinking about who might show up and I think it's Naruto. He's the only one who I can find that makes sense. All three Sannin trained a member of team seven and Naruto's the only one missing. So I think Jiraiya should go hang out at the Wreck in case he shows up."

I hadn't actually planned on telling them I'd figured it out, but it was safer to give away that I knew more than I was saying than to chance Naruto showing up and going Kyuubi. That was a disaster I couldn't even begin to know how to deal with.

"You're sure it'll be Naruto?" Jiraiya asked.

I shook my head as I answered, "No. That just occurred to me."

I really hoped they didn't hear in my voice, but I was telling myself that it was the truth too since I'd just rethought of him coming which made me decide to buy some ramen. I was just going to be the instant kind though.

A sigh met my words and I could almost see Jiraiya nodding in agreement, "Alright. You do have a good point there."

"Thanks," I answered with a grin, "It might be better if you kept him back there until I got there though. Sakura and Tsunade, you should go too."

"What about your house?" Sakura asked, making me grin. I could almost hear Inner Sakura's question, _"Are you seriously going to leave the Akatsuki and Orochimaru in here?! I should stay behind to protect Sasuke!!"_

I chuckled softly, "They'll keep each other in line. Plus I _did_ leave a set of rules for you guys. If I come back and my house is wrecked I'm kicking all of you out." I wasn't serious of course and there was a pretty obvious playful note in my voice as I said it, but I gave a slight snort of amusement to lighten things up, "Anyway, we need to finish up here so I'll see you guys in another hour or so. Bye."

A chorus of 'byes,' grunts, and a 'see ya later' answered as I hung up. I grinned and headed to grab a couple twelve packs of ramen noodles, I'd probably eat some myself. I picked up two bags of Pixie Sticks on the way then got in line to check out. I'd probably spend a pretty penny, but I was going to use _my_ money and my parents would never be wiser.

"This is madness," Deidara grumbled softly from right behind me.

I grinned, "That pretty much sums up Wal-Mart."

He grunted as I faced forward and sighed. The lines were long and we were going to have a long wait. They were backed up out into the big aisle between the checkout counters and the first real aisles where everything was, plus everyone seemed to have at least as much stuff as I did and I had a very full cart.

I leaned against the handle bar and let my mind start to wander off when…

"Ali?"

_Oh _crap._ I know that voice…_

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**Hehehe... Cliffhanger... ^_^**

**Yes ****OTURAN IKAMUZU, I did it again!! XD**

**Cookies if anyone guesses who that is!!**


	20. And Then There Were Three

**I am truely sorry for not updating for so long. **

**My life took a turn for the worse and everything else just took a back seat, including my story. I have been so stresseed that I could not even manage to write, things have been hard for me and I hope everyone can understand that.**

**What I can promise everyone is that I will not stop writing until Ali's adventure is over.**

**Words: 2,991**

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**CrossWorlds ~ Part One ~ The Beginning ~ Chapter Twenty ~ And Then There Were Three**

I closed my eyes, silently cursing myself for not noticing her before she noticed me. Actually, I should have _called_ her and made sure she wasn't going to be in town. I sighed and turned around…

There stood both of my best friends. April was closer looking from me to Deidara with a confusion on her face, behind her, regarding me with sad, hurt eyes was Audrey. We looked at each other for several long moments before I looked away guiltily.

"Tell her," April snapped at me, a rare bit of the temper that goes with her being a redhead shining though. I met her angry amber eyes with a sigh and closed my eyes, shaking my head.

"Not here," I answered, "Go home, grab overnight gear, and meet me back at my house as soon as you can. I haven't seen any of Brittany's pack around, but I'm not chancing you two getting hurt on my account." I put some steel in my voice then so they would, hopefully, listen.

April flicked her eyes to Deidara then back to me and twitched an eyebrow, silently asking, _'What about him?'_

I played dirty then by simply offering a grin and offered a wink to Audrey who smiled shakily. She could never stay mad at anyone for very long, "I'll explain everything Kitty-chan, I promise. Just remember, _I've only lied to you once before._"

I had done something like this to her before and knowing Audrey she'd figure it out about the time she and April got to her house. Of course, April would probably give in and tell her what I meant since she knew what was going on in the first place.

Audrey frowned and opened her mouth to reply, but I shook my head to cut her off. April helped out by covering her mouth with one hand while glaring at me. We staying like that for a moment, her glaring at me while only met her gaze passively, letting her know I wasn't budging on this.

"Fine," She finally agreed, "We'll be there in about an hour."

I nodded in reply as she stalked off towards the exit, Audrey cast one more sad, hurt look at me before turning and following her out. I sighed in relief and pushed the cart forward since the line had moved while we talked.

I glanced at Deidara, who had been surprising quiet during our conversation. He was eyeing warily with a somewhat stony face before speaking, "Are you going to tell the other one about us?"

The corner of my mouth twitched in a smile as I leaned my elbows on the cart's handle, "Yeah," I answered with a slightly grin as I glanced sideways at him, "We kinda make up our own little team and we work best if we're all on the same page," I chuckled then, "We're all also fans of the manga and anime so April probably knows who you are."

Deidara 'humphed' and stuck his hands in his pockets, while glaring at me, "So you just blew our secret?"

"Basically," I answered, "April will keep it though, like I said. Me, her, and Audrey are best friends and a team of sorts."

Deidara was silent for several long moments before sighing and looking the other way, "The others aren't going to be happy about this…" He warned, but left it hanging.

I rolled my eyes and answered with a little bit in my voice then, "Let them be unhappy, it'll be good for them to not get their way for once. Plus, like I've said for the zillionth time I don't take orders from anyone and they're fools for trying to control me."

Deidara looked back at me then with slightly widened eyes to meet my defiant eyes and frown as I glared at him. He smiled slightly, shaking his head and dropped his voice to a whisper, "They could kill you Ali. They could kill you and your friends without even breaking a sweat."

_Pft. That's exactly what I want you to believe…_

I grinned slightly then and looked forward to push my cart forward, there were still a couple people in front of us and the lady at the check-put now had a cart almost as full as mine. I chuckled darkly then and kept my voice at a whisper, "What makes you think I don't have a trick or two up my sleeve?"

He snorted in amusement at that, "Yeah," He whispered back, "You already told us this world isn't like ours. Have there ever even been ninjas in this world?"

I frowned then. There _had_ been ninjas in my world before, not in America of course, but how long had it been. I nodded in answer though, "There _were_ ninjas a long time ago, it's been probably six… Maybe seven hundred years, I don't remember the year I read, and not in this country, but they weren't like you guys."

I tapped a finger on the cart handle as I thought about it. I _had_ read something about ninjas before, I hadn't made a study on it, but I did remember it. I think it had been in an art book _Brittany_ had gotten me in grade school as a birthday present. Who would've thought _she_ would have given be something useful?

"What was the difference, un?" Deidara asked with genuine interest, snapping me out of my thoughts. I blinked at him as I got my mind back on track.

"No jutsu," I answered readily enough, though still in a low voice, "They used smoke bombs, I think, but no exploding tags and the like. Most of the ninja in our world were ex-samurai though, I think. I never made a study of it the only real interest people have in ninjas and samurai now-a-days is in the movies."

The look of surprise on Deidara's face made me blink and tilt my head slightly to the side in question as I waited for him to speak. His face closed down slightly as he looked away, "So no one trains anymore?"

_Oh, is _that_ all… Heh, _I_ can remedy that at least…_

I grinned at him, "Of course they do. Just because there aren't any more ninja or samurai doesn't mean we don't still honor them. I'm a black belt myself and although there isn't a lot of interest in this country for it where it came from it's still popular. I think they make all the children learn a bit of it in school."

Again I was just guessing, but I was almost positive sensei had mentioned that most Japanese children learned a bit of martial arts in school. The style I learned, and was still learning, had originated on the island of Okinawa but I didn't know what was taught on the main land.

_I really should make a point to study Japanese culture some more… At least then I might be able to give Deidara some better answers…_

"But I haven't made a study of it, that's just bits and pieces of what I remember. I could probably look into it some more later is you really want to know," I added on with a grin, then mentally cursed myself. Getting more information meant getting on the internet for me which could also lead to Naruto related sites which could lead to spoilers which could lead to some major trouble.

"I think I'm better off not knowing, un," Deidara answered with a slightly sheepish grin.

_Whew… Close one._

I gave a mental sigh of relief and pushed the cart forward again. Just one more person was in front of us in line and he was only carrying a couple movies and maybe a PlayStation 2 game. A slight smile curved my lips as I thought about introducing my house guests to the world of Ultimate Ninja 3.

_That would be so entertaining… Maybe if April forgives me I can 'challenge' her…_

Oh I couldn't _wait_ to get home now. I was fairly certain April would forgive me and she would probably even play along. I felt my grin turn evil then. April only had the first Naruto: Ultimate Ninja while I only had the third one. Which meant I'd have home field advantage…

_I'll have home field advantage if Brittany decided to make a show tonight too…_

That made my smile fade slightly, but I was confident I would win. I'd just have to prepare my yard… Hide the baseball bat in the hedge along the sidewalk, turn on the motion detecting lights, hide a few knives in my clothes in case _she_ decided to fight dirty…

_Actually I think I'll hide my sword in the hedge and carry the baseball bat…_

Brittany wouldn't come alone and if she had the advantage of numbers _I_ was going to have the advantage of reach. Plus I could use it like a sword and not have to worry about doing more than breaking bones.

"Hey, un," Deidara mumbled, nudging my side with his elbow, "You can go…" He continued, gesturing to where the guy in front of us was handing the checkout lady his money.

"Oh," I answered idiotically, "Yeah…"

_Pft. You're such an idiot sometimes Ali…_

My mind whispered nastily to me as I pushed the cart forward then scooted around to the front and began putting things on the conveyer belt. When I glanced at the checkout lady she gave me a nasty glare, making me realize that she was one of Brittany's pack.

I sneered in return, but didn't say anything as I kept putting things down. I knew she wouldn't risk cheating me since she could lose her job, but I was also psyching myself up for a verbal battle. I let my anger told her, along with the eagerness for a verbal spar roll off me in waves.

Even if, I paused to read her nametag… Even if _Emily_ was a complete idiot, which was likely, she would be able to sense at least a little bit of the anger I had turned loose. This was different than when I psyched myself up for a physical battle so I wasn't worried about the monster getting loose and I definitely wasn't ever, _ever_ going to try to call it up again.

"Good to see you Ali," Emily said and although there wasn't anything wrong with her words her tone was nasty. She smiled nastily as she started scanning and bagging things. Deidara moved around and began putting the bags in the cart. I wasn't sure how he knew to do that, but I assumed he had been watching other people and was fallowing their example.

"You too," I answered neutrally, if she wasn't going to attack I would lay low for the moment. I may like a good fight, but if she wasn't going to start one I'd leave her be. I'd probably see her later anyway and give her a good punch in the face.

Emily frowned at me then, but didn't say anything else. I didn't even get a 'Have a nice day' when Deidara had put the last of things in the cart and I got the recite. However when we were walking away she did have one last comment to throw at me…

"See you later Ali," Emily said snidely.

I got the double meaning and cast a last sneer over my shoulder as I pushed the cart away, "Count on it."

_But I'm going to make you regret it…_

I gave her my most wolfish grin as she turned away, though I caught the shudder she had tried to hide. Oh yes, my wolf grin was that good. I look like I'm about to eat somebody and the fact that I have bitten people in the past makes it twice as affective.

Deidara was silent again as we walked out to my car with me humming under my breath. I was pleased with the turnout since my encounter with Emily would get back to Brittany as soon as she got off work. I grinned again to myself as I unlocked my door and reached down to pop the truck.

I started setting things inside with Deidara helping me. I glanced at him then to find him watching me warily out of the corner of his eye. I gave a short laugh, "What?"

"That was strange…" He answered as he set another sack down.

I nodded in agreement, "Yeah, she's a bit crazy. Did you catch her meaning?"

His eyes flashed in annoyance then as he rolled them skyward, "Of course!"

I grinned, "Yeah, sorry. Stupid question to ask _you_."

He'd get my real meaning of, 'Yeah, sorry. Stupid question to ask an S-Ranked criminal!'

Deidara obviously got it as he rolled his eyes again. I giggled and shut the trunk and pushed the cart into the nearest cart holder. I turned back and walked back to my car and gestured for Deidara to get in himself as I got in and put the key in the ignition.

I buckled my seatbelt as he got in and fallowed my lead and buckled his seatbelt too. I stared my car and turned to watch as I backed out. Once I was free of the parking spot I faced forward again and started for home.

We drove for several minutes in silence as Deidara looked around at the town yet again. I smiled slightly, I'd be the same way if I ever got to visit Konoha, Suna, or any of the other hidden village. I mean, I'd gotten to run around Konoha as Naruto in Ultimate Ninja 3, but that wouldn't be anywhere near what it'd be like to actually be _there_.

"So how mad do think they're going to be at me for letting April in on my dirty little secret?" I asked him as we got on the last stretch of highway on the way home.

"I don't know, un," He answered after a brief moment of silence, "But that Tsunade is probably going to be the hardest to win over…"

I nodded, he had a point. Tsunade was a royal pain when she wanted to be and this would definitely get her pigtails in a knot. I snorted in slight amusement then, the fact that Tsunade had pigtails made her seem even more childish to me than before.

I saw Deidara give me a weird looks out of the corner of my eye and I grinned as I answered, "Is it just me or does Tsunade seem rather childish? I mean, she throws tantrums when she doesn't get her way, she doesn't listen to reason, and who ever heard of someone her age with _pigtails_?"

I glanced at Deidara as I turned onto my road with a grin while he simply stared at me like I was crazy. Then shook his head with a chuckle, "Don't let _her_ ever hear you say that, un. She'll pound you into the ground."

I laughed then, "Too true."

I pulled onto my lane-like driveway then and sighed with relief. I was always glad to get home, but I was also a bit nervous on how to break the news of April to my house guests… And I was a bit nervous to see if Naruto had joined them or not…

_Ah crap… They beat me…_

April's car was parked in the grass next to my car's spot and I groaned aloud as I pulled into my spot and parked my car. They were already inside too…

_Double crap._

I popped the trunk and grabbed five bags for each arm. Deidara did the same, but that still left the soda cases and another load of bags. My lips twitched then, I was going to make my house guests come and get them. Most of it _was_ for them after all.

I walked up to the house with Deidara fallowing me. April opened the door and glared at me with annoyance. I blinked at her and cocked my head to the side, the anger was gone, but she was definitely annoyed with me, "Wha-"

_WACK!_

April hit me upside the head. I shook my head and gave her a double take to find her giving me a mock-angry glare then, "You didn't tell me!"

Her wack hadn't really hurt and her comment startled a laugh out of me along with a snort, "But you do now…" I answered with a bit of a fake whine in my voice, "And now we make three."

_WACK!_

She hit me again. I frowned at her then, she was really only hitting me because my hands were full and I couldn't block it but twice was a little much. I blinked sullenly at her, "Point made April, don't make me put these down… April!"

_WACK!_

I jumped forward as she jumped away. I slipped my arms out of the bag handles and stopped my foot, "You wanna go!?"

She stepped right up in front of me and glared up at me. I had about two inches on her, "Do you!?"

I shoved my face down into hers until our noses were about a fourth of an inch apart as we glared at each other. I felt excitement bubble up in me then April leapt away, running for the living room, "I call Hinata!"

I was on her heals laughing, "Ha! I call Itachi! You're going down!"

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**Writing this chapter made me feel better. ^_^**

**I'm going to try to get the next one out as soon as possible, but I also start college August 11 so things will probably be a bit slower.**

**Review = Happiness = Muse's Happiness = Faster Writing**

**In theory at least... :P**


	21. The Three Together

**Once again, I'm sorry for taking so long, but I am working again and thanks to April and those of you who sent me all the encouraging messages I'm back on my feet and my muse is ready to go to work. So look out guys, Ali's real adventure has just begun!!**

**Also, I am also starting to work on an original story of mine so when I start posting it on I expect all of you to go read it! I'll let you know when the first chapter is up!!!**

**Words- 2,262**

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**CrossWorlds ~ Part One ~ The Beginning ~ Chapter Twenty-One ~ The Three Together**

I would have paid money to see the looks on their faces as April and I raced for the living room and Ultimate Ninja 3. Before I could get all the way there something crashed into me and wrapped arms and legs around me. I nearly fell over but regained my balance in time for the new growth on my side to squeal, "_Ali-sempai!!!_"

I laughed and reached up to ruffle her hair with one hand while wrapping the other one around Audrey's waste in a hug, "Hiya Kitty-chan." I greeted her with a grin. April must have explained so I was forgiven.

_Speaking of April, I have a fight to win…_

"So I'm forgiven?" I asked a bit timidly. Well, for me anyway. I'm not really afraid of anyone per say, but I am afraid of losing my two best friends.

"Of course!" She chirped in reply with a grin as she hugged me tightly before letting me go.

"What do I do with this, un?" Deidara asked, holding up his handful of groceries. He looked a little bewildered, probably at April and me calling characters for Ultimate Ninja 3 and Audrey calling me 'sempai' like Tobi did to him.

"Just put them on the kitchen counter, I'll put them away in a minute," I answered with a grin as I released Audrey. Glancing around I blinked, suddenly realizing that none of my houseguests besides Deidara were around.

_Well, I _did_ tell them to hide if anyone but me came…_

I had stressed that the fewer people that knew about them the better, so even though they had probably seen April come with Audrey they had probably all still hid. Looking back at Deidara I could tell from the way he was looking at me that he'd come to the same conclusion.

I sighed and rubbed the back of my head with a rueful grin as I glanced at April who was hooking up the PlayStation 2. Looking back at Audrey I lowered my voice so April wouldn't hear me, "Any ideas how to explain things to her?"

Audrey giggled, no doubt imaging the scene that was about to take place. April is a redhead and she has a temper. _She_ may be afraid of _my_ temper, but that didn't really help calm my fears at how ticked off she was going to be at me for keeping such a secret…

"This one's all yours Ali-sempai," Audrey told with a slightly sheepish grin. I sighed and grinned back at her before turning to Deidara who looked like he was pretending not to have heard anything. I rolled my eyes at that, I mean he is a ninja after all. He's honed his senses to be able to hear kunai flying through the air, I knew he heard us.

Giving him a grin with a touch of wolfishness to it I happily dumped the role of finding my houseguests on him, "Hey Deidara," I began in a playful whisper with more than a little bit of flirtatious sing-song in my voice, "You're a spiffy S-rank ninja. I bet you know exactly where everyone is, so you should go get them and bring them here to meet April."

The glare I got in reply was only a little scary, but I kept my grin in place and did my best to look coolly superior. I was laughing on the inside and I was pretty sure Deidara would be able to see that. He rolled his eyes and stuck his hands in his pockets before turning to walk up the stairs.

_What the crap? Why the heck is he going upstairs?_

I mentally shrugged and turned back to my two best friends with a grin. April had things plugged in and was turning the TV and PS2 on as Audrey plopped in the floor to watch our battle. April turned back to me to say something when her mouth dropped open.

_Oh crap._

I frowned as I glanced over my shoulder at the Akatsuki, Orochimaru, and Sasuke all assembled in the dining room and part of the hallway leading to the stairs. The Akatsuki all had their cloaks on with the collars up so I couldn't read their expressions, but I had no doubt that they were… Less than pleased with me.

Pein was the closest to me at the head of the group. His ringed eyes were narrowed in a fierce glare that I returned with a neutral one of my own by letting my eyes slide half closed. I was really, really getting irked with him trying to boss me around. When would he get it through his skull that I didn't take orders from anyone?

I half turned so I was in profile to them, still only looking at them out of the corner of my eye. I was dancing the dangerous dance of power, attempting to prove to Pein and everyone else watching that I was the Alpha here and since they were in _my_ territory they had better let me have my way.

I wouldn't speak first, that was giving way to someone else. I also wouldn't turn to fully face him as that meant I viewed him as a threat. In truth I was a little bit afraid of what he could do to me, but I couldn't let him know that…

I also didn't break eye contact, which was hard with those stupid ringed eyes of his. They were almost hypnotic in their own way….

_I should probably just be glad he doesn't have the Sharingan._

Which made me wonder if Madara was up to anything sneaky. So far I thought I had played the part that I didn't know Tobi was really Madara Uchiha fairly well, but I also knew that he hadn't lived as long as he had because he was stupid.

Which was what scared the crap out of me. He could know I knew who he was and not even drop a hint about it, but from what I'd read in the manga so far Madara seemed like he was fairly straightforward about making threats if someone knew who he was. So the fact that he hadn't threatened me meant that I was safe.

_For now anyway…_

I could only imagine what he'd do to me or what he'd have the rest of the Akatsuki do to me if he did find out. Knowing what I did about Madara, I figured he'd use Audrey and April against me if he didn't kill me outright…

_Steady there Ali. You're getting yourself worked up…_

I told myself as I brought myself back to focus on Pein who was still trying to stare me down. I twitched an eyebrow slightly as I turned down the corner of my mouth ever so slightly in a frown. I was trying to convey the message that 'I'm getting annoyed with you and this is a waste of my time.'

From the way Pein's eyes narrowed and the sudden threatening steps he took forward I knew it worked. I tipped my head to the side to regard him with one bored eye and slowly arched an eyebrow.

I really, really wanted to speak then, but I would lose my little dominance contest Pein insisted on having. I toyed with remaining silent, but he was way too close for comfort and I knew a kick to the nuts wouldn't work on him unless I stopped Time.

So I settled for my next defense: Sarcasm.

Sighing with annoyance, I spoke first with annoyance with a hearty ladling of irritation, "Can I help you?"

_Aw crap, I just set myself up too…_

My mouth operated faster than my brain and this was one of those times I had a feeling my mouth was about to get me in deep trouble if Pein came up with a comeback. His eyes narrowed over the collar of his cloak and I felt the tension thicken enough that I could feel it.

"Who is she?" Pein asked mincingly, setting himself up.

My lips gave an involuntary twitch in an attempt at a smile, which only served to make Pein angrier as I answered, "Who's who?"

Yep, I was playing dumb to purposely tick Pein off and from the way I felt the anger rolling off him I knew it'd worked. No, it wasn't very smart and it might not be very healthy, but it was fun to watch.

"Don't play dumb _little girl_," Pein answered, intentionally intending to tick me off, "It's obvious you intentionally brought that girl here."

I narrowed my eyes as I tilted my head to regard him with my look that Audrey once told me look like I was getting ready to jump up and rip someone's throat out with my teeth. I was royally pissed since Pein had intentionally tried to tick me off.

"Yes I did," I answered seriously, I wasn't playing right now. April was too important to me for me to play around with her life, "But this is my house, my rules, and if I want to bring someone else here I can."

I was surprised April hadn't said anything, but I suspected that she knew to let me do the talking since it was apparent I already knew the Akatsuki and the others were in my house. April was good like that.

"Yet _you _were the one who impressed on _us_ the need for secrecy," Pein answered in a low voice that spoke volumes on just how close he was to maybe killing me.

The corner of my mouth twitched in an almost smile as my face relaxed, now I was confident I could win this argument, "Yeah, but don't you ninja trust your teammates more than anyone else? That's what Audrey and April are to me," I sucked in a quick breath, "I doesn't matter that they know because if I need help smuggling you guys away from here if things for some reason go bad, these are the two I call to help."

"If things go bad?" Pein asked, now seemingly more angry than before, "Do you know something you're not telling us Ali?"

I shrugged, "No, I'm paranoid. I hate fighting on unfamiliar territory and since Brittany has already lost once she'll try to save face by coming after me here," My voice dropped to a low whisper, "And this time I'll be ready and waiting…"

"And Ali-sempai will have us for backup!" Audrey cheered, pumping a fist in the air in a gesture that reminded me of Naruto. The tension went down appreciatively at that and I gave a snort of laughter as I turned to face her with a grin, shaking my head.

"I think you should sit this one out Kitty-chan," I answered with the same grin as I arched an eyebrow at her and waited for her to take the bait.

"Wha-Why?!" She demanded with a stomp of her foot as she pouted cutely at me, complete with her bottom lip sticking out.

I grinned at April over her head and winked. April grinned back and stepped forward with her hands shaped into claws. Meeting Audrey's eyes again, I gave my evil chuckle making her frown at me in confusion.

Audrey opened her mouth to say something right as April pounced and poked both of Audrey's sides at the same time in the ribs. Audrey _screamed_ and jumped for me, wrapping arms around my neck and legs around my waste as April and I started laughing at our poor little Kitty.

"Does that answer your question dear?" I asked her as I started peeling her off of me. She pouted at me again as she set her feet on the floor and crossed her arms as she glared at me.

"No…" Audrey answered sulkily, making me grin.

I poked her in the forehead the same way Itachi had done to Sasuke before he killed the clan, although I didn't think of that and the impact it might have on them until after I did it. Audrey batted my hand away as I grinned, "You're too jumpy and you lose your head too easily."

I made a mental note to apologize to Itachi later since poking Audrey like I had probably had brought up some rather painful memories for him. Sasuke would probably be mad at me, but I was still made at him for what happened back at the Wreck.

I still was curious as to why he had pulled my shirt aside as he did. I was pretty sure he had seen the edge of my scar where Brittany and I had parted as friends. Forever. Naruto may be able to forgive Sasuke for trying to kill him, but I'm not that forgiving. If I ever got the chance, I'll probably give Brittany a scar to match mine.

"Remembering?" April asked, making me blink at her. She flicked her eyes from my face to my shoulder and back then twitched her eyebrows meaningfully.

_I think April can read my mind sometimes…_

I offered my nastiest wolf smile and nodded as I rubbed my hands together, "Yeah," My grin widened, "And if Brittany shows up here tonight it's definitely pay-back time."

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**At least it's not to bad of a cliff-hanger, right?**

**Reviews make me happy! My happiness = Muse = Work**


	22. Ultimate Ninja Showdown!

**So it's been about a week and I decided it was time for a new chapter. ^_^**

**I actually didn't think I would get this done in time, but I found my muse and TA-DA! it's a chapter!!**

**And since so many of you complained about the last chapter being short I made this one longer than normal!**

**I would also like to take this moment to wish OTURAN-IKAMUZU1 a Happy(slightly late) Birthday!!**

**Words: 2, 868**

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**CrossWorlds ~ Part One ~ The Beginning ~ Chapter Twenty-Two ~ Ultimate Ninja Showdown!**

"But right now you owe me an explanation Ali," April answered raising her chin with her head tilted slightly to the side as she looked sidelong at the Akatsuki with half-lidded eyes.

I sighed and rubbed the back of my neck as I rocked back on my heels, "I'm not entirely sure myself," I answered truthfully, "I came home from school on the half-day we had and went back to the Wreck to do some work when Hidan, Kakuzu, Kisame, Itachi, and Zetsu all showed up."

"Bet that was fun," She answered with a knowing smile.

I grinned back and glanced over my shoulder at the Akatsuki, "You have no idea," She laughed at that as I continued, "Deidara, Pein, Tobi, and Konan appeared the next day, luckily Zetsu found them and explained things."

_And they didn't ransack my house and find all the Naruto stuff I have…_

"The really fun part was Thursday when Orochimaru, Sasuke, and Jiraiya all appeared," I rolled my eyes for emphasis.

April giggled, "Ultimate ninja battle?"

"Nearly," I answered with a nod, "Itachi did vanished and Sasuke clumsily tripped on a log."

I snorted in amusement and cast a slightly superior look back at Sasuke who was seething as he glared back at me. I refused to look at Itachi as I turned back to April was giggling, but I caught her 'That's not everything' look. I grinned and twitched the eyebrow on the side the Akatsuki couldn't see, telling her that I'd tell her later.

"You know what a lot of people say about him…" She answered, trailing off to suggest that whatever it was that it wasn't good. Most people either loved or hated Sasuke, April was one of the ones who hated him, while I just felt sorry for him.

"True, true," I answered nodded, "But anyway, Friday was when Tsunade and Sakura showed up which was even _more_ fun," I told her with heavy sarcasm and obvious distaste for Tsunade.

"I can only imagine," April answered with a slight wince since I'd often talked trash about Tsunade, but the old hag _is_ childish.

Glancing back at my house guests I frowned and tilted my head to the side, "Speaking of the old lady, where is she?" I took note that Jiraiya and Sakura were missing too, "The pervy sage and Sakura are gone too…"

"They went back to wait for the Kyuubi vessel since you thought he might arrive today," Pein answered with narrowed eyes.

"No fighting on my property," I told them with more than a hint of steel in my voice, "Right now, everyone's goal should be getting back to _your_ world, not fighting among yourselves like a bunch of little kids."

That made more than a few of them bristle at my insult, but I ignored it as I looked at Sasuke and arched an eyebrow at him, "Why aren't you back there with them? Naruto is your best friend and he'd probably listen to you better than anyone else."

"He's not my friend anymore," Sasuke answered.

I rolled my eyes at him, "That's a lie and you know it. Naruto never abandons anyone he considers a friend and he definitely wouldn't abandon someone he considered a brother."

Sasuke's eyes blazed with his Sharingan then and he looked ready to attack me then, but Orochimaru placed a hand on his shoulder, "This isn't the time or place Sasuke."

The Sharingan faded then, but he continued to glare at me. I met his gaze until he jerked his shoulder free from Orochimaru and stalked down the hall and into the study, shutting the door behind him with a slam.

"Grow up!" I called after him with a roll of my eyes.

Turning back to Audrey and April I grinned at their giggles and felt myself relaxing fully for the first time since Tuesday when I found the first of the Akatsuki. Meeting April's eyes I grinned wolfishly and narrowed my eyes playfully, "Now, where were we?"

April blinked, looking blank for a moment before returning my grin, "You're going down this time Ali-chan."

I gave a half-laugh as I stepped forward confidently, "Pft, get real Ichigo-chan," I answered, using my personal nickname for her because of her red hair, "I am _so_ gunna beat you."

Audrey giggle as she scooted over to make room for me as I sat down cross-legged on the floor. I hit the power button on the TV and PlayStation 2, I opened the drawer that was underneath the DVD shelf and pulled out to controllers and unwound the cords.

"I call player one," I told her as I plugged in both controllers then glancing back at my guests taking seats on the couch and chairs I grinned as I looked back at April, "I reckon we better skip the intro…"

She followed my glance and giggled while nodding, "Even if it's already happened and they aren't here."

I snorted and pressed 'X' repeatedly until the game started loading from a saved file. I wondered briefly just who would be on the screen to 'explain' what things were. It would be one of the Leaf Jounin and I was fairly certain that all of them had fought with at least one person in the room.

_And this is where it could get sticky…_

Kakashi appeared, telling us to select the mode we wanted to play. April had managed to get the player one controller anyway so she had to scroll down and select the 'V.S. Duel' selection. The selection screen popped up and I felt her pause for a minute to look over everything.

"Been busy have we?" She asked dryly.

I grinned as I met her mock glare, "Yep," I wasn't going to tell her that I'd been leveling 'Itachi' up like crazy lately, "I'll even play nicely and use someone new… But I'll still wipe the floor with you."

April merely grinned as she selected 'Hinata' to play as. I scrolled up and picked 'The Green Beast' that I knew she hadn't seen before. She blinked a minute before busting out laughing as the image of Naruto in a green jumpsuit appeared. I struggled for a minute before grinning myself.

"Ali-sempai why is he in Lee's outfit?" Audrey asked, looking puzzled.

That made poor April laugh all the harder as I answered, "It was part of an episode a while back."

She blinked before giggling herself, probably imagining the outcome. I hadn't seen that episode, but I had no doubt that it had been hilarious. I think I'd even set it to be on 'Dynamic Entry' with the attacks I could use. Neither one of us had selected 'Customize' so we went straight to the 'Stage Select' and April began flipping through the stage options.

"I'm kinda partial to the Chuunin Exam Stadium…" I suggested to her. April gave a soft huff of laughter before selecting said stage. The V.S. screen popped up showing Hinata VS 'The Green Beast.' April hit 'X' again and the fight started loading. I gave a slight mock-growl as the 'Start Battle' appeared and Kakashi's voice sounded, 'Begin Fight!'

Away we went, I still hadn't told her about my newest addition to my fighting force, I was saving it to be a surprise and I was going to use it to wipe the floor with her in the game. I was lucky she hadn't noticed the final additions to my fighting force.

Naturally she was winning at the moment. April mostly played as Hinata so she was really, really good at fighting with her. She plays kinda defensively for the most part and Hinata's attacks were fairly well suited for that.

I, on the other hand, preferred to stay on the offensive. I rarely paused in my attack and I almost always picked speedier characters. Itachi was a favorite due to his speed and use of shadow clone, but surprisingly, even to me, Naruto was also a favorite. His method of always attacking with a charging shadow clone made him offensively defense since he could, in a way, stay out of the fight and in it at the same time.

'The Green Beast' was okay speed wise, but his style of fighting wasn't really what I was always looking for. I was trying to pull off the 'Ultimate Jutsu' to give myself an advantage, but April was taking offense right as I was ready to attack and was blocking it.

I growled grumpily, knowing my house guests were likely to poke fun at me for losing, but I was already planning on challenging April to a rematch. I also planned on playing as either Itachi or using my new secret weapon.

April giggled as she pushed forward with Hinata. She had roughly seventy-five percent health left while 'The Green Beast' only had about forty. I was losing, but not too badly. I _had_ expected to lose by playing as The Green Beast though.

"C'mon Ali-sempai!!" Audrey cheered, making me grin.

"I'm going, but I wasn't excepting to win with 'The Green Beast' dear," I told her, not taking my eyes from the screen. I was down to probably twenty-five percent health now and April's was still in the green above fifty.

"Why the fuck would you lose on purpose!?" Hidan demanded from behind me. If I hadn't know his voice, I would have known it was him from his use of language.

I grinned and replied without looking, "To show off the spiffy new characters I unlocked. I haven't had a chance to use 'The Green Beast' on very many missions yet so he isn't very powerful."

"Which makes my life a _whole_ lot easier if you're going to use weak characters Ali," April replied as she knocked 'The Green Beast' out. The screen went to negatives and froze for a moment as it showed Hinata executing a kick to 'The Green Beast' in the air. Then it started moving again to show Hinata landing on her feet and 'The Green Beast' hitting the ground.

"Heh," I laughed, "Keep telling yourself that Ichi-chan. I've still got a couple tricks up my sleeve and my newest character can wipe the floor with anyone and everyone in the game."

_That_ got her attention and she turned and looked at me as it took us back to the 'Character Select' screen. I offered a wolfish grin as I scrolled over and up to select 'The Yellow Flash.' April's jaw dropped as she stared at the screen and I could almost feel my house guests tense up.

_I probably should have considered the effect he would have on them…_

"Or would you prefer I stuck with my usual?" I asked slyly. Itachi was my usual and I'd been leveling him up a lot lately, but I also knew using his 'Ultimate Jutsu' might tick some people off. Itachi included, and I really, really didn't want to have Itachi mad at me. He and Kisame _were_ keeping a pretty big secret of mine and, although I didn't think they'd tell anyone I didn't want to risk it.

April had taken note of the challenge in my tone and had raised her head to look sidelong at me out of the corner of her eye. I grinned and selected 'No' to the 'Customize' option, I hadn't had 'The Yellow Flash' unlocked long enough to get more that the starting 'Ultimate Jutsu.'

She followed my lead and chose to play as Hinata again. She didn't customize either and she also chose the 'Chuunin Exam Stadium' again without consulting me. That meant I'd tweaked April's tail and she was out to prove me wrong and that I _couldn't_ beat her.

I grinned to myself as the opening rolled though. April was _so_ in for it…

As soon as our characters separated on the screen and 'Start Fight' flashed across the screen 'The Yellow Flash' went to work. In a flash I'd pounded Hinata into the air and then jumped back and as soon as she recovered and was up I hit her with my 'Ultimate Jutsu.'

That alone knocked off almost a quarter of her health and even better I was in 'Flash Mode.' I relaxed and, like a cat with a mouse, I started being just plain mean to my Ichigo-chan. I used 'Substitution' a couple times, then I used my awesome new speed to land several more hits.

I managed to get Hinata in the air and we had a 'Substitution Battle,' as I call it, but I finally managed to knock her to the ground. I collected the little bit of chakra Hinata lost and as soon as she was up I used 'Instant Light' on her.

I fought really dirty then by attacking her while she was still on the ground without giving her a chance to recover. It didn't take more than a few hits and the battle was over with me winning without losing more than maybe twenty percent of my health.

I couldn't help but feel as smug as 'The Yellow Flash' looked as it showed me as the victor. I couldn't help but grin myself, mirroring 'The Yellow Flash's' own cheeky grin. I leaned back, bracing myself with my left arm and keeping the controller in my right as I looking at April and Audrey.

April was frowning quite intensely at me and narrowed her eyes further at seeing my grin, "_That_ wasn't fair Ali."

Audrey covered her mouth with her hands to smother her giggle as I snorted in amusement and widened my grin, "No, my dear April, what's not fair is that I still have _another_ trick up my sleeve and I'm not going to share."

She glared at me for several long moments and I met her gaze until I got bored and flicked my eyes to my houseguests and back. Comprehension dawned on her face then and she rolled her eyes before glaring around the room.

"So how much does this tell you about us?" Orochimaru asked, his voice too neutral to be normal.

"No much," I answered, "It has a made-up contest to play and more people are available for me to be able fight with as I complete missions." That wasn't entirely accurate, but I didn't really want to explain the whole 'Story Mode' to them.

"So it doesn't give information?" Tobi asked. He had also sat cross-legged on the floor with us and had his head tilted to the side which reminded me of a innocent child for a brief moment.

_But this is Madara and I know he's not innocent. He probably never was…_

I almost felt sorry for the Uchiha then. All he'd probably ever known was war, blood, and death. That _had_ to be a miserable, lonely existence for him but he also didn't seem to know how to change himself. I had learned through experience that once something or someone gets old enough that they become fairly set in their ways and it's difficult for them to change themselves. I was fairly certain that was what had happened to Madara Uchiha.

"Not really," I answered after a pause and pretending to think about it, "It tells a story outside of your story if that makes sense," I frowned, unhappy with my explanation, but I didn't really have a good example that would make sense to them.

"How far does it tell?" Pein asked, his voice cool.

I was getting a bit annoyed with all the questions, but I knew it was better to make them see that as game wasn't a threat to them, "Not far, it ends with the battle between Naruto and Sasuke at the Final Valley."

"That's it?" Orochimaru asked.

"That's it," I echoed him. I had noticed he seemed a bit disappointed, but I wasn't about to tell him that I knew more than what was on the game. I was, however, getting bored with some of my guests and their stupidity.

For S-Ranked criminals who're supposed to be pretty intelligent, they sure weren't picking up on things very well. Maybe I was a better actress than I gave myself credit for, I was trying to play it kinda stupid myself.

_At least if I can keep things low profile all I have to worry about is getting them home._

That gave me a bit of comfort and I was letting myself relax when the bang of my back door hitting the wall jerked me back into the present…

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**Haha, I bet all of you thought that since the chapter was a bit longer than normal I wouldn't leave you on a cliffhanger didn't you? Wrong!! XD**

**But you all have a pretty good idea what's going to happen anyway I'm sure. =]**


	23. Enter Naruto Uzumaki!

**I acutally meant to get this out a few days sooner, but my life is once again very, very hecktic.**

**But anyway, thank you to all of you who messaged me with your support.**

**I would also like to apologise to anyone I snapped at because I was grouchy. I am sorry, but we all have those day, no?**

**Words- 3,074**

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**CrossWorlds ~ Part One ~ The Beginning ~ Chapter Twenty-Three ~ Enter Naruto Uzumaki!**

The ninja were on their feet instantly of course. I jerked into action as well, if Brittany was choosing now to jump my house then I was in big trouble. If she or her pack saw the Akatsuki saw the Akatsuki would kill them and even _I_ wouldn't be able to stop them.

Well, I probably could, but that would involve using my newfound control over Time and I wasn't quite ready to give up my secret to anyone else just yet. I knew I needed to tell April and Audrey soon and let them know that Itachi and Kisame knew as well. The sooner I could get all five of us together and coordinated, the better.

Luckily, or unluckily, it wasn't Brittany who'd slammed open my door. It was Konoha's number one, hyper-active, knuckle-headed ninja, the one and only Naruto Uzumaki.

_Well… This is certainly going to be fun…_

I thought sarcastically as I took note of Naruto's red eyes with vertical pupils and the more defined whisker lines on his face. He was glaring at the Akatsuki and Orochimaru with undisguised hatred which they met by sliding into fighting stances with neutral gazes. I made a mental note to tell Tsunade just what I thought of her, to kick Jiraiya in the balls, and tell Sakura that even at the end of the series she and Sasuke will never be together.

"C'mon people," I said exasperatedly, breaking the silence as I walked between the Akatsuki and Naruto, who was being joined by Jiraiya, Tsunade, and Sakura, "I do _not_ want a fight in my house."

"Don't you know who they are!?" Naruto half yelled at me, his voice holding more than a hint of a growl, "They're the Akatsuki! They've killed people!"

I resisted the urge to respond with sarcasm, instead I frowned at the orange clad ninja and planted a hand on my hip as I arched an eyebrow at him, "Yes, I know who they are. Yes, I know they've killed people, but right now this isn't the time or place for a fight," I told him with a roll of my eyes, "I also know who _you_ are Naruto Uzumaki and I really don't want my house leveled simply because you can't control yourself and throw a temper tantrum like a two-year old!"

So maybe that wasn't the best thing to say to the container of the Nine-Tailed Fox, but if Naruto thought he was going to best me by mincing words in my own house then he had another thing coming to him. I'd stood up to the Akatsuki, the Sannin, set Sasuke to his room in a sense, I was in the middle of a high school girl war, and I suddenly was developing some kind of weird super power that let me control Time.

_Compared to all of that dealing with one emotionally unstable kid should be a cakewalk then…_

I was _not_ letting someone two years my junior try to boss _me_ around. Heck, I didn't listen to _anyone_, especially someone younger than me. If someone older than me wanted to try to tell me what to do then they'd better make sure I have a bit of respect for them first. If I don't want to do something then I'm not doing it.

Naruto narrowed his eyes at me and looked ready to spring at me at attack. I glared right back and forced my muscles to relax, I didn't know if I was fast enough to dodge him but I was certainly going to try.

Then, just as suddenly as he'd been ready to attack me Naruto simply clenched his fist and looked away as he closed his eyes. I gave a mental sigh of relief as the whisker marks on his cheeks shrank to thin lines and when he opened his eyes and looked back at me they were blue. I'd also won the dominance contest, which made me happier yet.

"Fine," He finally snapped.

"Good," I answered with a grin and glanced at the clock then, "Now who's hungry? I bought a bunch of ramen when I was shopping today…" I looked at Naruto out of the corner of my eye as I said that.

He perked up and tried to keep looking angry, but his stomach chose that moment to give a particularly loud growl. He put a hand to his stomach and offered a sheepish grin, "Uh…"

"Well that's one anyway," I answered grinning as I stepped over to the kitchen table and dug out the ramen. April and Audrey appeared beside me and started helping me put things away to clear the table so we could eat.

At least he wasn't ready to go all Kyuubi on me, so that meant I could relax and tease him a little bit. He looked a little bit sheepish after the stomach growl as he followed me into the kitchen, but I did notice he was watching the Akatsuki rather closely out of the corner of his eye.

I was tempted to point out the fact that neither one of them would attack the other without being provoked. At least, I didn't think they would but I decided not to waste my breath and simply set the ramen on the counter for the moment.

I grabbed one of the bigger stew pots and started breaking apart and dropping the ramen in the pan. I'd put about half of it in then started putting in water until all the ramen was all submerged before I set it on the stove and turned the dial up halfway to start heating the water. If I turned it to boil immediately the ramen would burn on the bottom and the top would be crunchy.

I hoisted myself up on the counter to watch my now silent house guests. April had turned the PS2 off and was flipping through the channels, trying to find something interesting to watch. I grinned suddenly as I thought of a way to, hopefully, keep all them occupied for the next several hours.

"Hey April," I got her attention as she turned to look at me, "Why don't you put in the Lord of the Rings?"

"Sure," She agreed and got up to go search the movie rack for 'The Fellowship of the Ring.'

"But Ali-sempai those movies are _long_," Audrey complained, pouting at me from her seat on the step stool in the kitchen.

I grinned in reply and winked, "Exactly."

I didn't really care if the Akatsuki and the others knew I was trying to keep their minds off each other. Maybe they'd appreciate the effort and try to focus more on the movie. I'd picked 'The Lord of the Rings' because, not only was it long, it was set in medieval times and they might understand it more.

I knew the Narutoverse had electricity, T.V.s, and I'd seen computers once in Orochimaru's labs, but I didn't think they had cars. I knew they didn't have guns and the only bow I'd seen had been that little kid from the Zabuza arch when Team 7 had escorted the bridge builder guy.

There had been a train in one of the movies, I think a blimp too, but those had seemed pretty out of place to me. I didn't actually remember much from the movie other than that Naruto's chakra had gotten blocked my some yin-yang looking thing and he'd over-loaded it with Kyuubi chakra to escape.

I dropped down and checked the ramen. It needed stirring so I got one of the spoons with drain holes in the bottom and teeth around the lip that let me turn the noodles over. I stirred it a little bit so the noodles on top would be at the bottom and turned the heat up a little bit.

I set the spoon on the counter beside the stove and wandered out to find move of my guests engrossed in the movie. I grinned and rolled my eyes as I padded down the hall to the 'Middle Room.'

It was a fairly good sunroom and I kept several plants in there. Well, mom would say they were _her_ plants, but since she wasn't ever around and I took care of them they were technically mine. I heard the door behind me open that lead to the study, but I didn't turn around to look to know it was Sasuke.

I felt him come stand behind me and slightly to my left, but I didn't turn to look at him, "There's ramen cooking and everyone else is in the living room watching a movie."

"And I'm supposed to care?" He asked nastily.

I shrugged and glanced at him out the corner of my eye, "I thought you might be hungry and the movie will probably be better than locking yourself in the study."

He was glaring at me again, but I didn't particularly care. I hadn't been too mean just then even though I could have been a lot nastier. I didn't look at him as I fully turned around and went to go check the ramen. I could feel Sasuke's eyes on my back as he followed me and I mentally psyched myself up since I knew there was probably about to be a shouting match between Naruto and Sasuke.

I figured Sakura, Jiraiya, and Tsunade must have not told Naruto that Sasuke was here or he would have been tearing my house apart looking for him. I took a right into the kitchen and left Sasuke standing in the opening between the kitchen and dining room. I got a rather pleasant surprise as I found Naruto stirring the ramen for me which made me grin happy, "Thanks Naruto."

He returned my grin, "You're…" He stopped and trailed off as he looked behind me. His grin faded as her face turned to shock.

_And here we go…_

"Sasuke…" Naruto whispered to himself.

"Hm?" I asked, deliberately trying to downplay the situation. I turned around to look at Sasuke, "Oh," I answered as I looked back to Naruto, "Yeah, he's here too. I sorta forgot about him, I'm partly trying to ignore him since he's kinda annoying."

Instantly Sasuke turned a glare to me, which I returned with a bored look but I could feel the smoldering anger inside of me. I felt sorry for Sasuke to a point, but I also didn't like him for how he treated Naruto and the things he said to him when all Naruto did was be his friend. Granted he was an annoying friend, but he was probably the only real friend Sasuke would ever have.

"Sasuke… You're here," Naruto whispered again taking a step toward Sasuke.

Sasuke frowned and narrowed his eyes at Naruto, "Obviously dobe."

I rolled my eyes and shook my head. Here Naruto had at least grown up and Sasuke was still acting like he was twelve. I've always thought Naruto should find someone else to fixate on, but if he hadn't picked Sasuke there wouldn't have been as much of a story.

I stepped behind Naruto and started stirring the ramen myself, ignore the two for the time being. They sounded like an old married couple. That almost made me laugh out loud since both of them would probably have a heart attack if they knew how much yaoi fanfiction was written about them.

"Haha!" Naruto cheered, "That means we're all together again! You can come back to Konoha with me and Sakura and we can be a team again!"

_And here it comes…_

"I'm not coming back," Sasuke snapped, "Why would I want to be on a team with _you _anyway?" He asked nastily.

If I had seen her coming I would have stopped her, but I didn't even know April was there until the echoing sound her bitch-slapping Sasuke across the face met my ears. As it was I could only stare as my short red-headed friend glared up at the youngest of the surviving Uchihas with the upmost defiance and hate while trying not to laugh.

I watched as a red handprint formed on Sasuke's cheek until I could stand it no longer and snorted before I busted up laughing at the sight of April, standing five feet, two inches tall trying to stare down Sasuke who was a couple inches taller than me. I laughed until tears ran down my face as I leaned on the counter and slid down to a sitting position on the floor.

I couldn't stop laughing and the looks on their faces every time I looked at them just sent me off into another fit of giggles. It had been a while since I'd had a good laughing fit so I guess I was overdue for one. More and more faces were gathering in the doorway to the kitchen with expressions ranging from concern to amusement to disgust.

Distantly I heard Jiraiya speaking, "Does this happen often?"

Audrey giggled softly, "It's normal. It's like a cold, you just get one every once in a while."

Her comparison just sent me into another fit of giggles as I slid over onto my side on the floor. Something nudged my side and I cracked open an eye to look up at a mock-angry April, "Oi Ali-chan! You're not suppose to laugh at _me_!!"

I snorted in a breath of air while trying not to laugh and waved a hand at her, "N-not," I wheezed, "He-help-ping!!"

Instead I sat up and focused in deep breathes. If my house guest hadn't thought I was crazy before they most certainly would now. I grinned as I got myself under control and held my hands out to April and Audrey who pulled me to my feet.

I let go of Audrey's hand, but instead of letting April go I tugged her into me and, despite her protests, I proceeded to rub the side of my face again the top of her head. She started squeaking and tried to get away as I successfully made her hair frizz and stand up. I jumped back as I released her and she swiped her hand at me, then jumped back in to poke her in the side a couple times.

She squeaked again and glared at me as I made shooing motions at her, "Out of my kitchen," I told her and flicked my eyes around the to include the rest of my guests, "I have cooking to do."

April pouted at me before stalking off, pretending to be insulted with Audrey following as they headed back to the living room to watch more of the 'Lord of the Rings.' Sasuke flashed one more annoyed look my way before heading back to the study, this time with Orochimaru following.

Naruto made to follow then, but I grabbed his elbow, "Don't," I told him shaking my head, "He's not going anywhere," I grinned slightly then, "Not there there's really anywhere else for you guys _to_ go."

He paused a moment, looking a mix of confused and uncertain, "Wha-do-ya mean by that?"

I sighed as I released his elbow and stirred the ramen some more, frowning, "Didn't Sakura, the Pervy Sage, or the Old Lady tell you _anything_?"

"About what?" Naruto asked again, looking even more confused.

I sighed, weren't those people suppose to be smart? I know there are some thing that all of the ninja in general would be better off not knowing, but to not tell Naruto _anything_?

"You're in another world where your world is just a story…"

_At least, it was suppose to be…_

I briefly wondered if other anime or manga were real somewhere too, but I pushed that to the back of my mind as I continued explaining things to Naruto, "Most people would just think you were pretending to be yourself from the story or they'd try to kill you if you used any jutsus. So this is really the safest place for you, plus I don't think there are very many people out there that could feed everyone and put up with the all the drama you guys bring with you."

Naruto blinked, frowned as he mulled things over. I almost felt sorry for him. I knew he wasn't especially bright, but I had tried to explain everything as simply as I could. I sniffed the ramen and decided it was done.

I drained part of the water into the sink and dumped the chicken flavoring in and started stirring it in. When it looked like all the noodles were seasoned I started divided it out into smaller bowls, making sure they all looked even. I poured myself a glass of water, grabbed a fork, my bowl of ramen and headed for the living room.

I sat down on the floor between Itachi and Kisame's feet where they were sitting on the couch and jerked a thumb at the kitchen, "I've divided it all up and ya'll know where the forks and glasses are."

There was a paused, and probably an exchange of glances, before they all shuffled off to the kitchen as Naruto entered carrying his own bowl with a fork and a glass of water. As soon as they were all in the kitchen I swiped my favorite pillow off the couch and stretched out on the floor to eat while I watched the Ring-bearers enter the goblin caves.

My houseguests trickled back in and reclaimed or took over various spots in the living room as the fight between the ring-bearers and the goblins broke out. I glanced over my shoulder as weight settling onto my back to find Audrey using me as a pillow. I smiling lighting and went back to eating my ramen.

I was actually finished by the time everyone had made it back into the room. I could feel my eyelids getting heavy and I'd actually started snoring softly before I was fully asleep.

_Lord of the Rings movies always do this to me…_

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**Aren't you all proud of me? I didn't end on a cliffie!! ^_^**

**Kudos to everyone who leaves me reveiws! They're much loved!! 3s**


	24. Killer Intent

**Yes, yes I know I'm late getting this out but I was having some trouble decided what to do... **

**Originally I was just going to give you guys just one monsterous, super-long chapter but then I got it long enough that I decided to break it down. ^_^**

**Enjoy!**

**Words - 2,583**

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**CrossWorlds ~ Part One ~ The Beginning ~ Chapter Twenty-Four ~ Killer Intent**

I knew I was dreaming before my dream even really got started. I psyched myself up, hoping that I would be able to remember it if it was the same dream I'd been having. Mentally I was tense, but I also knew in the back of my mind that if I _wanted_ to see a certain dream that I probably wouldn't.

I was still ready for it though.

Yet as I slipped into my dreamscape I recognized the dream and relaxed. It was a comforting, familiar dream that I'd had several times before. They weren't all identical, but there was a general sameness in them that I could always recognize.

As my dream began I found myself standing on four paws rather than two feet as smells and sounds that I would be oblivious to as a human became more apparent as I became my wolf-self. At least, the scents and sounds became what I _thought_ they would be.

I walked slowly through _my_ forest, enjoying the feeling of doing _nothing_, of not having to worry about my silly human affairs since, for the moment, I wasn't human. I didn't have to worry about human things, I could simply enjoy my alternate world.

Time really didn't matter here as I wondered over the gently sloping hills covered in all sorts of trees, some real some that were my own. Large rocks littered the forest floor here and there, cover in soft moss with tiny flowers in several colors. Fern fronds, wet with dew brushed my sides as I walked a trail only I knew. It was night here, with fireflies and that stars as the only source of light.

My forest looked like something out of a fairy tale and I liked it that way. I'd made paintings of it in the past, or tried to anyway, but I never could quite capture the magic and the peace my forest held just for me.

I don't know how long I wondered, but as I felt myself waking up and I slipped out of my wolf-self I knew I'd slept too long…

I stayed relaxed on the floor as I felt myself slowly waking up. I don't get that luxury very often because of school, but that fact that it was dark when it had been light when I'd gone to sleep was a bad sign. I hadn't prepared my house for the possibility that Brittany and her pack might show yet.

That brought me back to full wakefulness as I jerked suddenly as I lifted my head and looked around. A weight was resting heavily on my back and I glanced over my shoulder at a sleeping Audrey. I smiled slightly, she really did look like a cat curled up against me, using my back as a pillow.

I rolled my eyes then and began working my pillow underneath her while I worked myself out from underneath her. She grumbled a bit before curling up into a ball like a cat with my pillow half under her head and the other half clutched to her chest.

I shook my head as I rolled to my feet and stretched with multiple pops coming from my back and more from my elbows, wrists, and knees. If I'd been laying down still my ankles would have popped too, but instead I folded up one leg, then the other as if I were stretching my thighs to make my ankles pop as well.

Sighing in relief I glanced around to find twelve pairs of eyes plus one hole in a mask focused on me. April was asleep on the floor with Audrey, except she was stretched out as I had been. I rolled my eyes again and glanced at the TV to see that my house guests had been watching NCIS again.

Grinning I stepped over Audrey and April as I headed for the bathroom. I glanced at the clock on my way and frowned, I'd been asleep for almost eight hours, making it nearly seven o'clock. I frowned as I padded up the stairs.

This wasn't good.

I wasn't ready if Brittany and her pack did show up. April and Audrey were still here and I couldn't, wouldn't put them in danger. Hell, they were _already_ in danger. I rubbed my forehead tiredly as I shut the bathroom door and leaned against it. I closed my eyes as I leaned my head back as well.

_I'm not going to wonder how it could possibly get worse…_

Because it could and probably would before the night got over. I squeezed my eyes shut tighter as I dropped my head forward and covered my eyes with one hand. Why did this have to happen to _me_?

I _hate_ drama, yet I somehow always seem to get stuck in the middle of it. Then my life turns into a real-life fanfiction plus I find out that my Grandma wasn't who she seemed to be and I develop weird Time control powers.

I sighed as I straightened and made my way over to the toilet. What was I going to _do_? Getting the Naruto characters home should be at the top of my list, but they seemed to be behaving themselves so protecting Audrey and April from Brittany and her Pack had moved up to the top of my list.

I sighed again as I flushed the toilet and moved to the sink to wash my hands. I left the water running over my hands, just staring at it for several long moments as I started planning how to prepare my yard.

I was definitely turning on the motion lights tonight, usually I left them off since they'd turn on if it was windy and the leaves were blowing. That itself wouldn't have been a big deal if everything was hooked up right and my stereo system in the barn didn't come on with it.

I grinned slightly at that. On the few occasions someone had tried to teepee me around Halloween when I left the motion lights on, the sudden music and lights had scared the crap out of them. Plus that always brought Molly and the rest of the neighborhood dogs running and Molly bites.

No one had really come after the first couple times due to several nasty dog bites. That was after Brittany and I had parted ways and rumor was that she'd tried to get her parents to press charges, but luckily for me Brittany's parents _still_ like me and they grounded her instead.

I smiled slightly at that, even after all that had happened, Brittany's parents still approved of me and would do anything for me in a heartbeat. They disagreed with their own daughter's choice to stop being friends with me and had tried to get us to be friends again on occasion. Then again if my daughter had tried to kill her best friend I'd be doing every I could to make sure charges weren't pressed and wouldn't be pressed.

Turning off the water I looked at myself in the mirror. I blinked at my reflection with half lidded eyes. I wasn't beautiful, I didn't even think I was pretty, if fact I considered myself plain, even ugly. Who'd ever heard of a senior who'd never had a boyfriend? And a week were we didn't see each other doesn't count, he hadn't even asked me out, we'd been set up.

Medium brown hair and dark brown eyes set in an average face. I'd had highlights a while back, but they were nearly grown out now. Most of my makeup had rubbed off and I could see the fading bruises and my left eye was still a little swollen, but not enough to mess up my vision.

_At least my sight won't be screwed up if I have to fight then…_

That brought me back to what I needed to do to prepare for tonight in case Brittany and her Pack showed up. I'd like nothing better than to hide my katana in the bushes to pull on them if they happened to show, but the last thing I needed was to get arrested for killing someone.

I inhaled sharply at that, shocked with myself at just how little it bothered me that I was thinking about _killing_ someone. Sure, I'm violent, I've joked about helping some of my friends hide the body if they killed someone, but that was just it, we were always _joking_. Yet here I was, thinking very seriously about what would happen if I killed Brittany or one of her Pack.

I braced my left hand on the counter beside the sink as I covered my mouth with my right hand. I could feel myself shaking as I met the horrified, wide eyed stare of my reflection in the mirror. The scary part to me was that it wasn't killing them that bothered me, it was the fact that _I would get away with it._

They would be on _my_ territory, at _my_ house, attacking _me_ with probably ten or twelve on one. I doubted they would bring a gun and I knew none of them have a gun card, but I wasn't completely sure that a couple of Brittany's muscle bound jock boy-toys wouldn't bring a couple knives. That made me smirk slightly, what guy, with a group of other guys, brought a knife to beat up one girl?

_One that's afraid of her…_

I smirked at my refection at that thought as I dropped my hand from my mouth to brace on the counter as well. I stared down into the sink with a grim expression and squeezed my eyes shut. The world would see it as self defense if I killed one of them, April and Audrey would take my side, but I didn't know if I could live with myself…

Because if I killed one of them, or even tried too, I wouldn't be any better than Brittany herself. I looked up at my refection again and slowly reached up with my left hand and tremblingly pulled my shirt collar to the side as Sasuke had done just last night. The pale line of my scar was roughly a centimeter wide with parallel dots running down both sides.

It began at the top of my left shoulder and ran down, over my heart, it made a little crooked jog before it continued down, between my breasts and ended just to the right of my belly button. I freed my index finger from my shirt and ran it gently along the left side of my scar.

I squeezed my eyes shut suddenly as I felt myself shaking and I fought not to make any noise. I knew I was taking too long and my houseguests were probably getting a bit suspicious, but I couldn't bring myself to care at the moment. Right now I was remembering…

I was remembering the day Brittany and I stopped being friends… Forever.

It was somewhere in the middle of first semester in 10th grade when we'd had a class together right before lunch. One of her senior friends offered to drive us to lunch, I think her name was Amber, Brittany agreed instantly, but I'd been a bit wary and I can't help but kick myself for not listening to my instincts then.

I'd already noticed that Brittany and I were different people than we had been after being separated for a year. We'd replaced each other with different people, I'd found some people who were protecting me for a change and Brittany had pushed herself into the sorority and was on her way to becoming the new queen bee.

I had expressed my disapproval at who she was becoming when I'd started finding out about sleeping with multiple guys, sometimes at the same time, and that she was doing drugs. She blew me off, which was something she'd never done, plus the current queen bee of the school, who I later found out had been our ride, was pushing her to sever all ties with who she used to be. Meaning she wanted to get her away from anyone who could've saved her…

So I went to lunch with them. Brittany had shotgun in the car while I was in the back, completely cut off from the conversation as Brittany and Amber chatted away. I half way paid attention, but what I was really watching was the scenery as we drove along.

We weren't going towards all the local fast food restaurants, we were heading out of town. At first I wasn't alarmed, I thought that Amber must live out here and we were going to her house to eat. As we got further and further out of town though, I did start to wonder where we were going, we were closer to my house now and I knew Amber didn't live out here.

When we turned onto a dead end road, I knew something was wrong and that was when Brittany struck. If I hadn't been wearing my seat belt I might've been able to get away. As it was Brittany had stabbed me and cut from my shoulder and halfway across my collar bone before I jerked away and up as I franticly tried to unbuckle my seat belt.

That was what the little jog above my breasts was from. As I got my seatbelt undone and I opened the door I threw myself from the car head first which was how my scar got so long. I remember rolling down an embankment and into a ditch and hearing them speed off.

I know I laid there stunned and in disbelief for a long time before I managed to get up. There had been blood… So much blood covering the front of me. I remember walking back up to the road and standing there until a car happened to drive by.

Luckily for me it was John's older brother instead one of the crazy people who live at the end of that road who found me. He'd been hunting I think, he was wearing camouflage clothes when he carried me into the hospital was as much as I could remember.

I don't remember getting my stitches, everything is fuzzy and what I do remember is little fragments filled with pain. I was in the hospital for nearly a month for blood loss and I was confined to my bed so I wouldn't pull my stitches out, but in that time I told the police everything.

Amber had been eighteen at the time so she went to jail and was still there as far as I knew, Brittany's parents had paid enough to keep her out of juvie and they'd paid for my hospital bills. Mom and dad had been home for a week to make sure I lived, but after that they had to go back to work so Brittany's parents stayed with me a lot.

I didn't realize I'd started crying until the tears started dripping into the sink. I squeezed my eyes shut then, why oh why did I have to remember all of this _now_? I sniffed and wiped my eyes as I got my breathing under control. No doubt my house guests would notice I was upset, but I didn't have any intention of telling them about my past…

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**And all of you probably want to kill me now don't you?**

**Wait in anticipation my dear readers, fight in three chapters or less... :}**


	25. The Calm Before the Storm

**I'm a day early with this chapter. Aren't all of you so proud of me?**

**Although my earliness if just from breaking up the last chapter to get the first half of this one. ^_^**

**Enjoy!**

**Words- 2,945**

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**CrossWorlds ~ Part One ~ The Beginning ~ Chapter Twenty-Five ~ The Calm Before the Storm**

When I decided I didn't look like I'd had a break down I sighed and opened the door. I jumped slightly when I found Tobi waiting there for me, leaning against the wall across the hall with his arms crossed across his chest. I stood there, staring at him with wide eyes probably looking like a rabbit in front of a snake and fanatically hoped Madara didn't decided to come out from behind his Tobi façade.

"Are you alright Ali-chan?" Tobi asked as he stepped forward and thrust his face into mine, seemingly to examine my face more closely.

"F-Fine," I told him with a bit of a stutter as I jerked backwards, I really didn't feel like anyone touching me right now, especially Madara.

"Then why were you crying?" He asked gently with a bit of an undertone.

_He knows!! He knows!! He knows!!_

My subconscious screamed at me as I looked away and let my shoulders droop. With anyone else I would have probably ripped them a new one, but this wasn't anyone else, this was Madara Uchiha. So instead I played defensive and crossed my arms, "It's nothing Tobi," I gave him a smile that was obviously fake, but pretended I was making an effort, "Don't worry about it, really I'm fine."

He was silent for a long moment as he stared at me, then he shook his finger at me like an adult scolding a child, "No lying Ali-chan."

His voice sounded like someone pretending to imitate Tobi's voice now. I sighed and shook my head again, "Then how about I'll _be_ fine. I just hate not knowing what's coming…"

He tilted his head to the side and I felt something relax in him as he became Tobi again. Had I fooled him? Did he think I didn't know who he was? Or did he think I was scared enough not to tell anyone about him? Either way I was still afraid, "What do you mean Ali-chan? What's coming?"

I sighed and rubbed my forehead as I shut off the bathroom light and started for the stairs, "I don't know, and that's what worries me."

I'd skirted getting myself in over my head yet again, and my legs felt almost jelly-like with relief. I couldn't hear him following me, but I knew he was for some reason. As I got to the bottom of the stairs I was met by several suspicious glances and glares, but I didn't offer an explanation as I turned and walked back down the downstairs hall to the closet at the end of the hall. I opened it and started pulling out baseball bats and weighing them in my hand to see which was the heaviest.

"What're you doing?" Naruto asked from behind me.

I paused and turned my head to find him watching me looking puzzled expression on his face. I twitched the corner of my mouth in a grin as I turned back to the closet, "Choosing my weapon."

"Like you can even use a weapon," The snide, sarcastic voice of Sasuke met my ears, but I didn't bother to look up or even give an indication that I heard him as I swung a bat experimentally. I didn't like that one so I put it back and tried another one. It felt better, but I still didn't like it very well. I was feeling for my sword's weight, but I knew this bat was as close as I was going to get.

"That won't do any good if they have swords," Sasuke taunted again.

I stopped and sighed as I closed my eyes, "They won't have swords."

"How do you know?" Naruto wanted to know from beside me, but he wasn't looking at me, he was glaring at Sasuke who leaned against the wall further down the hall.

"Because swords are obsolete," I told them as I continued down the hall. I didn't want to explain the concept of a gun at the moment.

"Why are swords obsolete?" Kisame asked from the couch. He wasn't looking at me, but he sounded a bit troubled. I couldn't really blame him though since his primary weapon is a sword.

"Different weapons were developed," I answered after a moment of silence with the TV going in the background, "We came up with a deadlier weapons that kill from a distance, sometimes with a piece of metal no bigger than my thumb that travels faster than an eye blink."

No one spoke after that and I didn't blame them. Guns were probably a bit unbelievable to them just as jutsus would be to me if I didn't see them in the anime and manga. Then again, just them being in my house should have been impossible, yet here they were.

_Just goes to prove nothing is impossible…_

I decided as I continued towards the door with my baseball bat. I shut the door gently behind me on the growing tension and sucked in a deep breath of cool night air and sighed it out in relief. At least they hadn't asked about bombs. I wouldn't have known even where to start telling them about nuclear bombs or air planes.

I prowled around my hedges looking for a good place to stash my baseball bat that I could get to in a hurry, but that Brittany and her Pack wouldn't stumble onto by accident. Plus I needed to get the layout of my yard so I could use it to my advantage. I knew it fairly well already, but the better I knew it the easier it would be for me to use it.

I finally found a place in the hedges that I liked and stuck the bat in taking care to make sure that no one would know it was there unless they watched me put it there. I even went as far to rearrange the hedge around the bat's handle.

I considered even naming it for a moment, but nothing interesting or suitable popped into my head. So I left it as it was and sighed as I stuck my hands in the pockets of my jeans and looked around my yard. There wasn't really anything else I could do. A trip line might be good, but there was always that chance I could fall for my own trap.

_Guess that's it then…_

Turning back to the house I sighed and rubbed my forehead. This whole week was turning into one big stressful mess. I couldn't decided whether the girl war or having Naruto characters living in my house was more stressful.

The Naruto characters _should_ have been the more stressful, but for some reason I trusted them. Well, to a point I trusted them anyway. As ninjas they seemed to have a little bit of honor that I trusted when they agreed not to fight or trash my house I believed them.

People today don't have that. It's hard to find people to trust and depend on no matter what in the modern world. Then betrayal is a common thing, I knew from personal experience with Brittany. I got lucky when I found Audrey and April, they were my ninja squad, the two people in the world I could count on no matter what.

I paused with my hand on the railing on the steps as I looked at the dark cavern around my driveway formed by the trees. I couldn't risk their safety. I don't know if I would stay myself if I lost them, lost my best friends all over again.

Everybody changes, I'm not the same person I was four years ago when I started high school. I'm not even the same person Brittany tried to kill three years ago. I'm probably not the same person I was before the Naruto characters showed up at my house. I'm changing into a whole new monster.

The beast stirred at the back of my mind at that, then settled back down with a purr. I've been called a monster before, a couple times actually. The first time hurt, I didn't want people to see me as a monster then. Back then I'd just wanted to be just like everybody else. After Brittany tried to kill me though, that's when I started accepting that I wasn't like everyone else.

The doctors said it was amazing that I'd held on when I'd almost bled to death. They said that anyone weaker would have _died_. Yet I pulled through somehow, I can't even remember now though. I just knew that I had survived against nearly impossible odds, that I was _different_.

Most people, people older than me, told me I was special. People my age called me a monster.

That was Brittany's fault too. She'd spread rumors that I attacked her and Amber and she'd miraculously had a knife on her to defend herself with. If I hadn't already known April and if she hadn't known better, I would have been all alone. Audrey moved in shortly after that and had wanted all the gory details.

I smiled at that. She hadn't listened to the rumors, she'd gone out and found out the truth for herself and stood behind me. Plus she and April were fast friends as well and the three of us stuck together to watch each other's backs.

The door opening and closing jerked me from my thoughts and I wiped my head around to find a rather annoyed looking Hidan glaring at me, "What the hell is taking you so long out here? I'm fucking starving!"

I blinked at him, then laughed as I continued up the steps, "Alright, alright. I'm coming. I am just feeding you guys pizza again though, I don't feel like cooking…"

He stood aside and let me go in first. I found most of my house guests looking rather tense but I chose to ignore it once again as I headed for the basement stairs. Audrey was still curled up on the floor but April was missing. I paused and glanced tilted my head to look of at Jiraiya who I'd stopped beside, "Where's April?"

He shrugged and jerked a thumb at the stairs leading to the second floor, "She went upstairs, but I don't know why…"

I nodded and continued for the basement stairs. She'd probably gone to the bathroom. As I started down the stairs I stopped and looked over my shoulder as Tobi bounced into place, "I'll help you carry things Ali-chan!"

I didn't _need_ help, but it wouldn't hurt to let Madara have his way. So I grinned at him instead and continued down, "Okay, thanks Tobi."

In truth though, I really was getting irked at Madara and how he seemed to be following me around lately. I really, _really_ hoped he hadn't tried to invade Itachi's mind and somehow found out what I knew… That would be disastrous for everyone.

So instead I got into the freezer and started handing the masked ninja pizza boxes. I gave him four and then I took four myself and reached up to shut the freezer then I paused and looked back at Tobi, "Do you think these will feed everyone?"

He raised his four pizzas up to look at the boxes, then peered at my four before nodding vigorously, "Yep! As long as no one else appears!"

I groaned and closed my eyes at that as I shut the freezer, "Don't even joke about that!" I pleaded with a mock shudder, "I don't think I could handle having any more ninjas in my house. You guys are eating a hole in my wallet _and_ destroying what little sanity I had."

Tobi laughed at my comment and I grinned in reply as we started up the stairs. For all he was the biggest, baddest bad guy in the series so far when he was truly pretending to be Tobi and his Madara side wasn't threatening to come out I actually _liked_ Tobi.

He followed me into the kitchen and set his pizza boxes on the counter beside mine as I turned the oven on pre-heat. I opened the dishwasher and handed Tobi two glasses with a grin, "Would you put ice in these?"

"Sure Ali-chan!" He agreed enthusiastically and bounced over to the refrigerator freezer to start putting ice in the glasses. I continued to set the glasses out on the counter until I got eighteen of them as Tobi put ice in them.

"What are you making?" Naruto asked from the kitchen doorway, obviously not willing to come in the kitchen while Tobi was in there.

"Ali-chan is making pizza!" Tobi exclaimed happily as he finished putting ice in the glasses and held up a box for to show Naruto the picture, "And it's really good!"

"Eh, I suppose so," Naruto agreed reluctantly, "But I still prefer ramen…"

I let out a laugh at that as I switched the oven to bake and put in four of the pizzas, "You _always_ want ramen Naruto!"

He gave a 'humph' and turned to walk away. Tobi crouched down to peer into the oven, apparently he intended to watch the pizzas cook. I smiled slightly at that as Sakura appeared in the kitchen doorway next, looking a bit hesitant, "Do you need any help?"

I admit I was a bit surprised at her offer, but I covered it up with a smile, "Sure," I answered and turned back to the glasses, "Will you set these on the table as I fill them up?"

"Sure," She nodded and stepped forward to pick up the glasses and carry them out as I poured water in them. I wouldn't have ever pictured _Sakura_ as the domestic type, but it fit her in a strange way. Maybe she liked doing some sort of mundane task after all the work she does as a ninja.

"Ali-chan!" Tobi exclaimed suddenly, jumping up and waving his arms excitedly, "Tobi thinks the pizzas are done!"

"Alright, let me see," I answered as I crouched down and cracked the oven open. Sure enough, all four pizzas were done. I pulled out the cookie sheet and cut each pizza up before sliding it onto a plate then taking them out and putting them on the table, "Here, go ahead and start while I get the others in."

There was a pause and then a general shuffling movement, as the Akatsuki stepped forward and sat down to eat. I moved back into the kitchen, followed by Sakura as she watched me put four more pizzas in the oven.

I sat on the stool and listened to the sounds of people eating and the TV going in the living room. The house was fairly dark with the only light coming from the TV, but I'd done that on purpose. If Brittany happened to show up she'd have to have the lights on her car on to see to get through my woods and if all the lights in the house were off I could see her coming.

I kept my mind blank and just stared at the oven, not really seeing it as I watched the cheese on the pizza melt. I heard Sakura sigh and I glanced at her in time to see her scowl at me before turning and leaving the kitchen.

I quirked one eyebrow, what had I done to her? Then again she had probably expected me to actually have a conversation with her. Pft. As if.

The other four pizzas were done then so I got them out and cut them up and added them to the table. Most of the Akatsuki were done so they got up and moved to the living room to watch more TV as Team 7 and the Sannin sat down to each. Audrey had woken up at the smell of the pizzas cooking and April came in from the living room to sit down with me.

The air over the table was tense, but I ignored it an concentrated on my food. I wasn't hungry in the first place and if there was a chance I was going to be in a fight I definitely didn't want to eat. I ate one piece of pizza and played with the second, turning it around on my plate.

Giving up on it I got up with a sigh and wondered into the living room. The Akatsuki looked up at my entrance as I glanced around for an empty seat. Once again the center seat on the couch between Kisame and Itachi was empty so I took it, folding myself neatly into the small space.

NCIS was still on so I focused on it, but noted with a quiet sigh that it was yet another rerun. I frowned at the TV and diverted my attention out the window and jerked slightly before tensing all over.

I leaned forward with wide eyes before lunging to my feet, heading for the window. I shut the TV off on my way, throwing the house into darkness as I glared out the window. I narrowed my eyes as I lowered my head and growled softly as I watched the flickering of headlights between the trees as they moved down my driveway.

They had come.

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**Cliffhanger.**

**Hehe...**

**Yes, I'm that evil...**

**Actually, I'm worse than evil, I'm the author!!**

**Mwahahaha!!**


	26. And So It Begins

**Yes, I know I'm late with this chapter.**

**But you all will forgive me, right?**

**Words: 3,025**

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**CrossWorlds ~ Part One ~ The Beginning ~ Chapter Twenty-Six ~ And So It Begins**

They were here, now and Audrey and April were still here and now they were in danger. I felt a shiver go down my spine from a mix of panic and anger as my hand tightened into a fist in the curtains. I wanted to rip them down in anger and frustration. I took a deep breath and exhaled through my nose as I tried to get myself under control.

"Ali?" Audrey asked, a bit of worry in her voice, "Why'd you turn the TV off? I can't see…"

Audrey was in danger again, because of _me_. It was my fault she got hurt, it was my fault she was _here_ where the danger was, it would be my fault if she got hurt again…

"Ali?" April asked this time, her voice wary and concerned.

April was here in danger too. That was my fault too. She had her temper and was just as protective of her friends as I was of mine, but she still didn't have the muscle to back it up. It would be my fault if she got hurt…

_So protect them. Defend them with your life, they'd do the same for you._

The cool, calculating part of my mind told me as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. I felt myself splitting up in my head as I mentally psyched myself up. I inhaled and exhaled again, this time my breath was steady and controlled.

I released the curtained and moved towards the back door as I forced my muscles to relax. I paused at the door and stared at my still dark yard. They weren't here yet. My adrenaline heightened senses told me someone was coming up behind me so I didn't jump when someone touched my shoulder.

"Ali?" Audrey asked again, this time she sounded worried and a little bit afraid, probably from my silence.

"Yes?" I answered, then swallowed, trying to call moisture into my paper-dry mouth.

"Why did you turn to TV off? What's wrong?" She asked, sounding nervous at my tone. Fear wasn't something most people associate with me, I'm scared of very few things. After facing off with a 1200 pound horse a few times people aren't that scary any more.

I was silent for a moment, too long apparently because I felt Audrey take my hand and clutch it tightly. I turned my head to look down at her then. My eyes had adjusted to the near darkness then and light glittered off her face from the tear tracks down her cheeks.

"Oh little one, I'm sorry," I told her. Calling her 'little one' was both me being possessive and me silently telling Audrey that I truly was sorry. I sucked in a deep breath then and squeezed her hand reassuringly, "Don't worry though. It'll be alright. I promise."

Those were the magic words for Audrey as I felt her relax. In a sense I'm like Naruto. If I make a promise to someone, especially to a friend I'll keep it even if it kills me. I stand by my friends and I protect them no matter the cost.

"What's wrong Ali?" April repeated Audrey's second question that I'd purposely neglected. I turned my head so I didn't chance them seeing my lip curl in anger and I focused wholly on not tightening my hand on Audrey's anymore.

So instead I sighed at April's question as I stared at the cavern made by the trees that was starting to get light at its center. They were getting closer. I turned to look at April then, who was staring right back at me, though I couldn't read her expression.

"They're here," I told her simply as I looked back out at my yard.

"Who's here?" Tsunade wanted to know. I felt the beast growl at the back of my mind at her tone and I mentally beat it back down. It wouldn't due to lose my head now. If I lost it in the fight was one thing, that was different, but going after a ninja like her, or any of my house guests, would be stupid on my part.

"Brittany," I told her simply. I could almost feel her glaring at my back, but I didn't really care. I didn't like her, she didn't like me. We'd made that obvious the first day she was here and I wasn't about to pretend I liked her.

As if she'd heard me speak her name Brittany's car, followed by her latest boy toy's truck, pulled into my yard. I gave Audrey's hand a squeeze before letting it go entirely, "No matter what happens, stay in the house."

I stepped outside them and closed the door on any answer there might have been. There would be no argument, not this time. If I my monster-self happened to get free and I went berserk, there was a chance I wouldn't recognize friend from foe, only the need to fight.

Both cars had shut their lights off, so they didn't see me as I walked down the steps and onto the dirt path on silent, bare feet. It was getting cloudy and the growl of distant thunder promised a storm wasn't very far away so it was a bit difficult to see, but the motion light would kick on when they got a bit closer.

I crossed my arms across my chest with my feet shoulder width apart as I watched them all mass together in a huddle that looked more like some deformed beast. I could hear them whispering to themselves, forming some sort of plan that I was going to make sure failed.

Then they moved forward. They hadn't taken over ten steps when the motion lights kicked on and what sounded like a song from my Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron soundtrack came on. It was soft music, not at all fitted to the mood but I didn't have time to worry about it now.

I'd prepared my eyes for the sudden light and had closed them, so when I opened them it didn't take as long for them to adjust. There were ten of them not including Brittany, they'd thrown their hands up to shield their eyes, but they were starting to lower them now.

"I knew you would come," I told Brittany, speaking first.

She sneered nastily at me and gave a false little laugh, "Yeah, just because you're a freak like that and probably pretend to do crystal ball shit like a little kid."

I grinned at that and shook my head slightly, but I refused to completely take my eyes off her, "No, I'm just smarter than you."

One of her friends flipped me off and I merely shook my head again, "No thanks honey, I'm straight."

She gave a hiss like an offended cat at that and started forward towards me. I uncrossed my arms and slid my left foot forward ever so slightly to give myself better balance. Two of the other girls grabbed her arms and held her back though and began whispering urgently in her ears.

"Humph," Brittany answered me with a toss of her hair, "You wish," She answered my comment and flashed another sneer at me, "You're just a loser with nothing better to do so you sit up like a scared little kid hoping the boogey man won't come."

I narrowed my eyes then. Something was… Off about Brittany. Something was wrong, she wasn't this clever and I briefly wondered if she somehow had and earwig and someone was telling her what to say. I promptly threw that idea out the window, she wasn't smart enough to think of that either.

"If I'm just a scared little kid why did you bring so many people with you?" I asked her putting a superior note in my voice. I didn't usually play that game, but I was intentionally baiting her right now, trying to get her to attack.

Usually it wasn't this hard. Brittany can dish out insults left and right, but she can't take one to save her life. Her life wasn't on the line though, at least, not yet it wasn't. _I_ was actually the one losing patients at the moment. I wanted to _fight._

But apparently that last comment had done it as I watched anger and hate turn her pretty face ugly. She didn't have a comeback to that one it seemed, then I was proven wrong again as her face smoothed and she grinned at me again, "To teach you a lesson."

_How original…_

I thought sarcastically. Luckily, my brain was working overtime and it didn't take me any time at all to come up with a comeback. So I grinned back as I tilted my head to the side, "Because you're nothing more than a weak little coward who has to have other people do your work for you."

Her face blanked then as her friends shifted around her. Apparently I'd pushed the right button because when the one who flipped me off before charged me, no one held her back, but charged with her instead.

I was ready.

I slid my left foot back as I brought my arms up defensively. I didn't return their charge, but let myself sink further into myself until it felt like I was watching things in slow motion. As soon as the first girl cam in range I spun on the ball of my right foot and thrust the heel of my left foot into her stomach.

I snapped my foot back then stepped down and forward to keep myself balanced as she flew backwards to land heavily on her back. She curled into the fetal position, retching horribly, but I couldn't watch to make sure she stayed down as I faced the other two.

One had passed the other and I ducked a wildly swung slap and countered it by sweeping her legs out from under her and dumping her onto her stomach. That put me close enough to her friend that she couldn't swing at me, but I brought my elbow up to catch her on the chin and send her backwards as well.

I settled back into a ready position and exhaled as I watched the three remaining girls and four boys. The girls started screeching angrily, but I didn't bother to focus on what they were saying as I met Brittany's shocked blue eyes with my narrowed brown ones as I let a sneer crawl across my face, "Yes, I've gotten better. That's what happens when you actually do things yourself."

I told her nastily and I saw the slight flinch before her face twisted into a grimace of pure hate. I don't play the nasty card on just anyone, but Brittany is special. I could feel the torrent of emotions building up in me as adrenaline raced through me like wildfire and a tremor ran down my spine. Brittany was fighting only for herself, I was fighting for my friends.

"Get her!!" Brittany screeched, her voice cracking with anger as she started forward, her seven remaining cronies hesitated for a moment before taking a few quick steps to catch up. I exhaled a quick breath and set myself again. I could handle three untrained opponents easily, four wouldn't be bad, five would be getting sticky, but I knew I was in trouble with all eight of them coming at me. I mentally psyched myself up. I was going to get hurt, there was no getting around that, but I could grit my teeth and bare it for my friends.

I waited until they were nearly to me before I lunged forward at the largest of the boys. I'd waited until the first three had gotten to me and I'd pretended I was going to wait for them to get to me, so hopefully this would throw them off. I kneed him in the groin as soon as I was close enough and he fell with his mouth open in a soundless scream as he curled into the fetal position clutching himself.

I spun to go for the next guy went a small fist connected with the side of my head. Luckily they didn't get me in the temple and knock me out so I only staggered sideways before jumping to the side. Once I landed I struck out with my left foot to hit one of the guys in the thigh, hoping I got the right muscle that would render the leg useless for a while.

As I retracted my foot automatically two fists hit me, one in the gut, another on my right jaw. I went down and attempted to turn my fall into a roll when a hand grabbed me and threw me the opposite direction. I hit the ground hard and rolled, somehow I managed to get into a crouch at the two uninjured guys advanced on me, followed by the Brittany and the two girls as the guy I kicked in the leg brought up the rear.

I staggered to my feet and set myself again, breathing hard. I was in pain, but I could ignore it for the moment as I concentrated on my opponents. A high-pitched war-scream tore through the air right before Audrey jumped on the last guy's back. She howled like a banshee as she wrapped both legs around his waist and one arm around his neck as she proceeded to beat him with the fist of the other hand.

The two girls turned and stared for a moment in shock before moving to run to his rescue. April jumped in the way and waved my weighted practice katana at them threateningly. She hadn't been taught the 'proper' form, but she had the general idea, plus she was smarter and faster than both of those girls so I wasn't worried about her.

_Audrey_ on the other hand was having trouble staying on the other guy as he tried to yank her off him. Her response was to hit harder and scream as loud as she could into his ear. I almost felt sorry for him for that, Audrey has one of the highest pitched voices I've ever heard in a scream.

"Deal with those two quickly and help Audrey," I called out to April, "I'll take care of these two…"

I'd purposely left out Brittany and by the renewing of her hateful expression I knew she knew it. I circled towards to house, keeping them in front of me as I let my feet feel the ground, I was going for my baseball bat. Brittany pushed urgently at the guy closest to her, "Hurry! Get her! Get her! Get that bitch!"

I sneered then as I stopped, and brought my hands up defensively. She knew I was up to something, she knew I didn't fight fair. I made a mistake then though, my weight had been balanced so I was ready to lung forward, so when someone jumped on me from behind I went down again.

Blows rained down on my head and neck. I turned my head with a snarl just in time to get hit in the noise. My snarl turned to a roar as I bucked my whole body up with one motion and threw my assailant off. I whirled on one of the first three girls and shot my fist forward to punch her back in the noise, hoping I didn't hit hard enough to break it.

As I was drawing my fist back in to caliber as a fist smashed into the left side of my face and sent me flying. Audrey had been thrown off the big guy and I almost landed on her before I caught myself and managed to get to my feet. The guy had then gone to help the girls as April suddenly let out a grunt of pain as she hit the ground at my feet. Looking towards her attackers I saw the guy brandishing my practice katana as the girls moved to flank him.

I looked back to Brittany, only then realizing that they had us surrounded. Brittany seemed to realize that too as she stopped and planted a fist on her hit to sneer arrogantly at us. Her cronies stopped too as Brittany and I glared at each other, "Looks like we've got two little pussy cats and a bitch surrounded…"

I grinned back at her as a plan formed rapidly in my head. I knew my house guests were watching, I knew they could hear us from inside the house, but if I called for their help would they come? If I did, Brittany and her Pack would be killed. It I didn't April or Audrey might get beat up more or worse… As if to echo my turbulent thoughts the wind picked up as thunder growled directly over our heads.

"What? No comeback?" Brittany asked with arrogant sneer, "Looks like I win."

The beast roared inside me then. If there was one thing we wouldn't tolerate, it was losing to _her._ I threw back my head and laughed. As I got myself under control I wiped my mouth, taking note of the sting on my bottom lip that let me know I'd split it. I sneered anyway, ignoring the pain as blood trickled down my chin, "Wrong," I told her in a dark tone that I reserved for my most hated enemies, "You're the ones surrounded…"

The beast growled low in the back of my mind as I hoped this would work…

A flash of lightning split the air and the motion lights flickered briefly as the power flickered on and off. It lasted no longer than the time it takes to blink an eye, but it was long enough as we were now surrounded by fifteen ninja.

Instead of thunder, the next sound that met my ears was a terribly familiar ripping sound coming from the sky and then the sky ripped open…

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**Or maybe you're all going to kill me now...**

**Kudos if anyone figures out what fight in 'Naruto' I took a line from... And as a hint it's not dialogue!! XD**


	27. Break Down

**I am sorry I'm late with this, but life was keeping me busy and I wanted to get this just right... I'm still iffy about the title, but so much happens that it was hard to find one that completely fit... *shrugs***

**For those of you who guessed on the fight scene it was the Naruto/Gaara battle with Ali being Naruto, fighting for their friends and Brittany being Gaara, fighting only for themselves. ^_^**

**Words- 2,168**

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**CrossWorlds ~ Part One ~ The Beginning ~ Chapter Twenty-Seven ~ Break Down**

I stared up at the sky in pure horror as I took an instinctive step backwards. What in the world was going on? Was someone else coming? There were dozens of possibilities of who might come, but after Naruto had come no one else would make sense.

Plus the 'countdown' was already complete. Who else would show up? It made sense before that Naruto was the last one to show up since he was the main character of the series. I couldn't even _think_ of who else would show up.

Unlike any hole I had ever pictured or thought of this one was a glowing white rather than black. Lightning crackled around it's edges into the surrounding clouds that swirled around like a funnel cloud ready to turn into a tornado.

The wind hit us below then, kicking up dirt like a whirlwind on the ground in a perfect circle just outside the ring the ninja had made. It even _felt_ like I was inside a whirlwind. A really, really strong whirlwind as it tugged at my clothes and my hair whipped around my face from my pony tail.

The ninja moved in closer to form a tight cluster with me and the rest of the non-ninjas. They hadn't moved a moment too soon since lightning began striking around where the dirt was being kicked up by the wind. Thunder roared, making it impossible to speak even though I knew Audrey was trying to tell me something from the way her mouth moved.

I focused on her, trying to read her lips but without success. I shook my head at her as I looked back up at the crackling, swirling hole in the middle of the clouds. From what my guests had told me their arrival here in my world hadn't been this violent, just the ripping sound, a flash of white light, and then they were here.

So what was this? Had something gone wrong? I didn't think that the hole or vortex or whatever it was would change based on power of whoever was going through. Besides, the most powerful characters in the story were already here. At least the ones still alive, I've always thought the Fourth Hokage would be one of the most powerful. I really hoped he wouldn't show up here. It would be a pain in the butt to explain to Naruto that he was his father.

A hand closed on my shoulder and yanked me sideways as I felt lips pressed to my ear. I could just barely hear Itachi's voice over the roar of the wind as the circle around us began to shrink, "What's going on?"

He moved away then, and I only shook my head wordlessly as I looked at him then at the shrinking circle. Not only was the whirlwind getting smaller, but the lightning was coming with it and the number of strikes was increasing.

I looked back up at the hole in the sky, glaring angrily at it. I _hated_ this. I was helpless, my friends were in danger and there was _nothing_ I could do.

I blinked suddenly then as my eyes widened in shock as I realized that something was glaring back at me from within the hole. I felt my lips slightly as I tried to make out the silhouette of whatever it was. It's outline was only a couple shades darker than the white of the hole and it's eyes, narrowed to slits were the same white as the hole. Whatever it was, it was huge, it's silhouette taking up most of the space within the circle.

Itachi was still beside me, but his eyes were still on the slowly shrinking circle as the lightning got closer. I grabbed his sleeve and yanked it, hard, to get his attention. He glared at me a moment before a yanks his head down to half-yell in his ear, "Look up! Look in the hole! There's something in there!!"

He blinked, glaring at me a moment before looking up with me. Sharingan eyes narrowed as Itachi tried to see what I was seeing. I watched him out of the corner of my eye and watched his eyes widen as his lips parted slightly in surprise. I was glad that he could see it too, it let me know I wasn't totally insane.

A hand closed on my shoulder and Itachi bent down to talk in to my ear again, "What is it?"

I only got to shake my head when a monstrous roar of thunder ripped through the air, but to me it sounded like it could have actually been the roar of some gigantic beast. I suspected the latter more than the first after seeing the silhouette in the hole, but I didn't get time to think about it.

Itachi had taken a tighter grip on my shoulder to the point that it was almost painful and I had turned my head to look at him in question when his hand was suddenly ripped away, along with my right shirt sleeve, and my feet left the ground.

I watched the ground speed away with some of the ninjas and people from my world scattered in between me and the ground. I twisted in the air, trying to turn away from the ground and somehow managed to get facing the glowing hole.

I was speeding towards it even as every part of my body and mind screamed in unison to get away. Get away from the vortex thing, get my feet back on the ground, and _run._ Whatever was causing the hole to rip in the sky was evil. I'm not entirely sure how I knew, I just _knew._

I wiggled and twisted in the air, trying to slow or stop my accent. Stopping Time wouldn't work here. If I did I wasn't sure if I'd freeze in midair or plummet to the ground. By now we were at least fifty feet in the air and I knew I wouldn't walk away from that kind of fall.

I could barely hear the screams of terror from Brittany and her pack along with April and Audrey over the roar of the wind. I stared grimly at the rapidly approaching white hole, noticing with mild interest that I was going to be the first one to reach it.

"_**This is not a coincidence little one!"**_ Kasugami's voice sounded urgently in my head, "_**It is too soon! We were supposed to have more Time!"**_ The note of panic and anger in his voice was almost enough to make me panic too, but my only real thought was that if Kasugami controlled Time why couldn't _he_ stop things?

"_**While I supply the Power needed **_**you**_** are the one who controls it!" **_He answered almost snappishly.

_Oh sure, _now_ you tell me…_

I thought at him sourly, but in truth I didn't hold it against him. I couldn't really, it wasn't his fault that I hadn't thought to ask about it. Instead I narrowed my eyes angrily at the vortex, I had less than a minute before I actually hit the thing. I was relieved that whatever had been silhouetted was gone though. I hoped.

I _knew_ the hole in the sky was evil and I knew whatever was inside of it was worse. I clenched my jaw angrily as I finally realized I was afraid of the vortex and whatever was inside it. If I can face an enemy head on I'm fine, but this… I was helpless.

"_**Brace yourself little one,"**_ Kasugami told me grimly as I found myself squinting against the brightness of the vortex, _**"This is not going to be pleasant."**_

And then, the pain began.

I have a high pain tolerance, I always have, but this trumped everything I had ever felt. I couldn't move, couldn't scream, I couldn't even breathe. Every nerve ending was on fire, stuck with a needle, and being ripped out at the same time. My stomach and throat burned like I'd just thrown up ten times. My lungs felt like someone had poured acid in them through my nose. My head felt like it was splitting apart from someone sticking wedges in through my ears.

I was glad my eyes were closed. They still felt like they were on fire, but something told me that I didn't want to see what was going on around me. That if I did, this pain would be nothing.

It was worse were I'd been hit in the fight. Ten times worse. It felt like someone was standing there hitting eat bruise over and over again. My cuts and scrapes burned like rubbing alcohol was being poured over it in a steady, never-ending stream. That wasn't even the worst part.

The worst part was my scars.

Each one felt like it was being reopened, remade. Then the feeling of rubbing alcohol being poured over them as needles shot into the open wound as it was continuously reopened again and again. The worse was the scar on my front where Brittany had tried to kill me. Not only did the sensation of being constantly reopened with alcohol being poured on it and needles shooting in it, but I could feel the stitches like they were all being put in repeatedly and all at once.

While all that was going on with my body my mind felt like I was in Itachi's Tsukuyomi. I was watching my worst memories play out in my mind's eye, each one accompanied by the physical pain as it happened. The memories were in order too.

I watched my parents drive away for a business trip. I always remember the first one when they didn't come back for two weeks. It hurt the worst. They _lied_ to me. They told me it would only be for a couple days. I knew there could be delays and for a few days that's what I thought happened, but I was wrong. When they got home all they talked about was how glad they were that they'd planned it that way.

Then I pretended I was okay with it, lied back to their faces. I really felt like they didn't want me.

Then I was riding in a familiar car, though I hadn't seen in years. I didn't want to look at the driver. I _couldn't_. I knew this would hurt the worst out of all my memories. It still hurt, even after all these years. I hadn't seen her in so long, not even a picture, I couldn't see her now. But, somehow, I knew I was going to see her anyway.

An invisible force turned my head. I wanted to close my eyes, I tried to, but I could only stare in horror at my Grandma as she smiled at me, her wonderful, beautiful smile. Her eyes were a few shades darker than mine, appearing black as a crow's wing. Her hair used to be almost the same color, but now her waste length braid was shot through with gray.

If I could have cried then I would have.

I could only stare at her as her mouth moved in our last conversation that I couldn't even remember. I watched as headlights appeared suddenly on either side of her head before the truck struck her car and pushed us into the ditch.

In reality my head had struck the window on the passenger side of the car and I'd been knocked unconscious, but now I was somehow awake and unable to move as I watched my Grandma die. Her door had been crushed in from the truck's brush guard and sharp pieces of metal, plastic, and glass punctured her body. She was trapped by the door, steering wheel, and her seatbelt along with being unconscious. I could only watch as she bled to death.

Whatever was controlling this played that memory again and again, over and over as I watched my Grandma die.

I don't how long that went on for as I felt myself breaking.

I couldn't win.

I couldn't fight back.

I gave up. If this was how I was going to die I just wanted it to be over already. If I was going to Hell the pain there couldn't be any worse. If I went to Heaven at least it would be over.

I didn't know which would happen. I didn't _care._

I don't know when I realized I wasn't in the vortex anymore, but I was laying on my back sprawled under a giant tree that was way too big for me to still be at home. I closed my eyes for a long moment and when I opened them I found a girl with brown hair and eyes with purple stripes on her cheeks and a Leaf headband on her forehead looking back.

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**Haha, bet no one besides April saw _THAT_ coming... ;}**


	28. Different Time, Different Place

**Well folk, here it is. **

**Stage two of Part One. Yes, I just made that name up, but this is part of the story. I thank Spiffy Cloud for the idea for coming here as it gave me the idea to lengthen CrossWorlds to the massive length it is in my head.**

**So, thank you Cloud. 3s**

**And thank you Ichigo-chan(aka April aka Strawberry-Ringo) for being supportive and helping me keep in gear!! Luv ya babe.**

**Words- 2,220**

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**CrossWorlds ~ Part One ~ The Beginning ~ Chapter Twenty-Eight ~ Different Time, Different Place**

I stared at the girl as she stared back. I knew she looked familiar, but I couldn't focus right now. All I felt was the overwhelming tidal wave of pain and sorrow. The girl looked concerned as she opened her mouth to speak and I closed my eyes. I didn't feel like talking.

Closing my eyes made it worse. I could see the faces of my parents and Grandma as if they were standing in front of me. Grandma's face was the worst to see because she was the one I cared about the most and because her faces appeared how I tried to remember her and how she looked the night she died.

I squeezed my eyes shut tightly. I wanted to cry, but not here. Not in front of a stranger.

A hand shook my shoulder gently. I sighed and opened my eyes, this time the girl had been joined by a boy with black hair and orange tinted goggles. I blinked, my eyebrows drawing together as I tried to place where I had seen them before.

I'd never met them before, I'm pretty good with faces. I'd seen them before though, but I'd seen them differently.

Giving a have grunt, half groan sound I lifted myself to my elbows then pushed myself up to a sitting position. My whole body screamed as my head pounded rhythmically. This definitely trumped every beating I had ever taken, probably given too.

I rubbed my eyes with my index finger and thumb, trying not to make any more pained sounds. When I opened my eyes to look back at the girl I found that she and the boy were gone. I blinked and shook my head, I must have been seeing things.

Sighing I sat there looking around. I was in a forest, a really big, really old one judging by the size of the trees with giant mushrooms growing out of them. I blinked, then closed my eyes and shook my head. When I opened my eyes for a double take they were still there.

Giant mushrooms… Well, that certainly wasn't something I saw every day.

"Huh," I mumbled to myself as I rubbed the side of my neck, wincing as I brushed the bruises. I decided I'd gone insane. Maybe the monster in my head had finally taken over and he'd stuck me in here to keep me happy. Only I really couldn't be happy when my whole body felt like one big patch of raw skin.

I blinked as I realized there was something besides the tree behind me. Instead of turning around like a normal person though I dropped my head straight back to look at the four people behind me up-side-down.

I stared at them a moment, but sitting like that hurt my neck so I lifted my head upright, then, slowly and painfully turned myself around to face them. I winced again as I crossed my ankles and rested my elbows on my thighs.

Three of them were kids in my mind and one adult. Two of the kids were the girl and boy that I'd seen before, the other one… The other one was a young Kakashi. He didn't even have a scar over his eye or the Sharingan yet. I blinked at him as my mind started to wake up and I realized where I'd seen the other two kids before and who they were.

I'd seen them in the twenty-seventh volume of Naruto in the Kakashi arc. They were Obito Uchiha and Rin. I always wondered why Rin didn't have a surname, Tenten didn't have one either. Maybe the creator of Naruto ran out of ideas for last names by the time they came along.

I blinked as my mind came back from its little side trip and I focused on the adult in the group. I instantly thought of Naruto as I took in his light blue eyes and spiky blonde hair that were the same shades. He was Minato Namikaze, the Fourth Hokage.

I had to be dreaming I decided as I rubbed my eyes again.

But wait, if he was here with Kakashi, Obito, and Rin then that meant that this was sometime during the fourth ninja war and he was still just a Jonin. A powerful one with the nickname 'The Yellow Flash' that made him one of the most feared ninja in the world.

And he was frowning at me.

I blinked at him, that certainly couldn't be good. Kakashi was glaring at me too, but unlike Minato, Kakashi looked like he was ready to kill me if I made a wrong move. I thought that was a bit rude, I hadn't done anything to him after all. At least, not yet. If he had the attitude he'd had in the manga I might end up trying to kick him in the face though.

I felt my face twitch and scrunch up, making the ninja tense up as I sucked in a deep breath of air and sneezed. I blinked a couple times and shook my head to clear it before rubbing my nose and snuffling softly. Looking back up at the four I grinned in amusement at their expressions.

Minato looked like he was deciding I wasn't a threat which was a big relief as he leaned against the tree behind them and returned my grin slightly. Kakashi looked annoyed and peeved by my mere presence and I found that highly entertaining as he turned away with a sigh. Rin was grinning back at him with something like pity in her eyes. Obito just looked confused, which didn't surprise me since in the manga he reminded me of an Uchiha Naruto.

"Are you lost?" Rin asked me in an overly gentle voice that I associated with young children.

I blinked at her, did she think I was stupid or something? I scratched my jaw and sighed, "That's one word for it I suppose."

The all twitched slightly at that as I looked over my shoulder at the surrounding forest. If I was here shouldn't April, Audrey, the ninja, Brittany, and her Pack all be here somewhere? I didn't see any of them and as close as we had been when that hole in the sky appeared they should all be pretty close…

So why was I the one Minato and his squad here with me? I looked back at them, "Have you found anyone else just laying around, like me?"

They blinked and exchanged glances, tensing up as they looked back at me. "No," Kakashi answered in a hard voice, "Should we have?"

I frowned at him, then looked away back out into the giant mushroom covered forest while mumbling, "I don't know… We… We were all there… I don't know… We should all be together…"

I was worried now. If I was here, where were my friends? My enemies? The ninja? I had to find out. I especially needed to find April and Audrey, they were the most important to me out of all of them.

"Huh?" Obito asked, staring at me as if I'd grown another head.

"What do you mean?" Minato asked seriously, though he hadn't made a threatening move besides straightening up from where he had been leaning against the tree. I must have gotten his attention.

"I… I don't know myself," I answered, frowning at the ground in front of me. Something was definitely wrong here. I was alone in the distant past of 'Naruto' and I had no idea where any of my friends or enemies were. I wasn't sure which was worse, not knowing where my friends were or not knowing where my enemies were…

"How can you not know?" Kakashi asked with obvious annoyance as he glared at me.

"If you hadn't noticed," I began dryly, not bothering to hide the annoyance in my voice, "I did just wake up here…"

"But where were you before you were here?" Minato asked, putting a restraining hand on Kakashi's shoulder when he made a move to come at me.

I rubbed my eyes tiredly with a sigh, wincing at how much it hurt to move right now, "I was at my house."

"Where is that?" Minato asked again as he released Kakashi's shoulder when the masked ninja jerked and turned away from me, not that I really minded.

I sighed again and looked away, out into the mushroom forest, "From here? I don't know, but a long way… I… I don't know if I can even get _back_ home from here or even how I got here."

I curled my hands into fist in frustration. I _hated_ not knowing what was going on, not know where my friends were, whether they were safe or in danger. But most of all, I hated feeling weak as I did now. I didn't think I even had the strength to stand up, let alone go looking for April and Audrey.

I was useless.

A hand was placed on my shoulder and I jerked away with a wince from the contact. All my nerves still felt raw from passing though that hole… Vortex… Thingy… The last thing I wanted was physical contact.

It was Rin, and she was frowning at me, "Just want happened to you?" She asked, "Your body… It feels like…" She shook her head, "I've never felt anything like it. It's injured, all of it, but yet it's… not…"

I shook my head, "I don't know that one either," I sighed, "I was in a fight right before I… Woke up here…"

I held my hands out in front of me, palms down, examining the broken skin on my knuckles where I'd hit someone, multiple someones. I sighed, had the fight been in vain? Was I dead? Was this what happened when someone died? They just went somewhere else?

Rin's hands gently covered mine, this time I twitched, but didn't pull away as her hands glowed with green chakra as she healed my hands. It soothed the broken skin, but my skin still felt raw as she drew her hands away, frowning.

"I can't… Heal it?" She asked, more to herself than anyone else.

"Rin?" Obito asked, sounding concerned.

"I can heal the wounds I can see… But it still feels like she's covered in injuries…" She answered, looking up at me in question.

I blinked, drawing my eye brows together as I thought about it. When I passed through the hole in the sky vortex thing it had felt like I was going through every injury I had ever gotten, all at once, over and over. I even felt like I was healing from all those injuries and the most recent ones hurt the worst. It was a body ache with pulsing, slightly stabbing pain where my injuries from the fights this week were. Except where Rin had healed me, those just joined the rest of the body ache.

I shrugged, "I feel like I'm recovering from every hurt I've ever gotten at the same time. I just… ache," I shrugged again, rubbing my left shoulder where the scar then winced at the contact and dropped my hand, "Recent things are the worst, they throb."

I was babbling, I realized as they stared at me and knew I probably wasn't making a lot of sense right now. I wasn't making complete sense to me. I felt like I had after being awake for almost three whole days. I felt utterly drained, both mentally and physically, and in desperate of a good caffeine fix. Coffee would have been amazing, jumbo sized, black, with a cup of sugar in it. Or just a good mocha from McDonalds would have been really good at this point with biscuits and gravy or pancakes… Pancakes would have been better since I ate them with syrup and syrup had a lot of sugar in it…

I reined my mind in as soon as I realized it was wondering off and tried to focus on the here and now.

"So with those injuries she's obviously not much of a fighter," Kakashi stated, seemingly to himself, pretending I wasn't there…

Which _really_ wasn't smart on his part since people pretending I'm not there when I really am is right around the top of the list of things I don't like. Anger fizzled at the back of my head, across my cheek bones as I avoided looking at him as I inspected my nails. I was trying to focus on something else so I wouldn't lose my temper with him. Usually a comment like that wouldn't have bothered me and I would have just made a snide comment back, but I was kinda at my wits end.

The beast rumbled at the back of my mind and I could almost feel the four of them twitch to alertness. I jumped myself, since this time, the beast had a voice as it spoke to me…

"_**Humph, little puppy you'd best watch how you speak."**_

**_

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_*giggles madly***

**Yes, I really did just leave off on another cliffhanger. ^_^**

**I love the Favorites and Alerts, but I really, really, really, REALLY, REALLY love review.**

**I don't bite...**

**Wait, that's a lie...**

**But I reply to all my reviews! I like people to ask questions!! (even if I won't answer them if they'll spoil something...)**


	29. The Ninja World and a Cat

**Alright, who missed me?**

**It has been a stressful few weeks and I'm not going to talk about what happened because it's in the past. Although it is in the past it still hurts and it looks as if it will be a painful scar, the kind that always throbs like the wound isn't really gone... Things are different now, but I do promise to continue CrossWorlds to the best of my ability although things are different there as well...**

**A few of you know because you cared more about me that when I was going to update and that really meant a lot to me. I thank the few of you from the bottom of my heart. **

**Word Count- 3,330**

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**CrossWorlds ~ Part One ~ The Beginning ~ Chapter Twenty-Nine ~ The Ninja World and a Cat**

I admit, I was shocked, afraid even as the echoes of the beast's voice died down in my skull but I could still feel it, _her,_ I corrected myself since the voice had been female, observing the world with calm annoyance. As in, she was annoyed and wouldn't have minded squishing Kakashi, but she wasn't really angry. She was just alert because I was angry.

"_Who the are you?"_ I demanded rudely, using anger to try to cover up my surprise and even fear at finding there was actually some_thing_ sharing my head. Kasugami was alright since he wasn't technically inside my head, even if he could halfway read my thoughts.

"_**That's no way to speak to an elder,"**_ She replied, sounding amused rather than angry, _**"Though I suppose it must be a bit difficult for a pup like you to meet me for the first time like this…" **_Her words echoed in my head again followed by what I would call a sigh as she… Shifted position? Anyway, I felt her _move_ inside my head like a person would shift position while sitting on a chair or stool. Though it felt like she was… Lying down…

Sort of… It was all terribly confusing, not to mention extremely frustrating.

"'_Difficult' would be putting it mildly…" _I thought at her, trying to cool my irritation and think rationally, though I could feel my exhaustion creeping back up on me like a tidal wave as my brief burst of adrenaline at _her_ sudden appearance wore off. I needed sleep very badly; no amount of coffee would be able to keep me awake at this point. I needed to rest.

"_**Worry about me later when you can think straight," **_She told me, sounding rather tired herself. I could almost feel her yawn as she… Settled back down in the corner of my mind, _**"I'm not going anywhere after all…"**_

And she was gone. Just like the other times I'd lost my temper, only without the voice. I had the feeling that she was… Sleeping, which sounded pretty good at the moment… I yawned myself and looked up at the four ninja that I temporarily forgotten about.

They looked way too serious for my liking, especially with kunai in their hands. I scratched my jaw again, wondering just how I was going to straighten _this_ out. I wasn't very, very careful I could very easily end up very dead right here, right now. Having the good guys kill me would be beyond humiliating, not to mention the whole dying thing wasn't on my 'To do' list.

"Uh…" I began sheepishly as I offered a small, hopeful grin while trying not to tense up and give the wrong impression, "I don't suppose telling you that that's never happened before will help?"

It was sort of the truth, but I wasn't sure that they'd believe it.

Kakashi definitely looked like he was ready to kill me. I could see him visibly tense at my words and I was desperately wishing that I had ended up in the future where Kakashi was hot and awesome. Not to mention more intelligent. The rest of them looked serious, but lacked the more profound look that they were ready to kill me that Kakashi had.

Not that I really blamed them. When I had called the beast, or what I'd thought was the beast back at the Wreck it had caused a chakra spike big enough when I had been at the Wreck with Sasuke that it had brought all the other ninja at a run. Pein had nearly been ready to kill me then; I could only imagine what was going through Minato and his squad's heads.

Minato was frowning at me, though it was an 'I'm not sure what to make of you' frown so I was pretty sure he was trying to figure me out rather than thinking about attacking me. Which was a good thing since if he wasn't going to attack me the others probably wouldn't either, but then, Kakashi was suppose to be 'leader' on this mission so he might just decide to try and kill me anyway.

I could only hope I could stop Time so I could avoid getting hit. Though being as I wasn't even a ninja I probably wouldn't even see him move. This really wasn't looking very good for me…

I jerked myself upright and shook my head when I realized I'd been nodding off and swayed to one side. I rubbed my eyes again, trying to keep myself awake even as another yawn claimed me. At this rate I'd fall asleep before they killed me.

A stifled chuckle jerked me from my thoughts and I blinked sleepily at the perpetrator, Minato. I offered a smile in return as he shook his head with a small smile of his own, "Well," He began, looking back at me, "In the state you're in I don't think you're much of a threat," His smile widened, "You're almost ready to fall over."

"Heh," I agreed with a grin, "I'm not a threat to you anyway," I answered agreeably, "I only go after the people who hurt my friends or go after me first."

Minato blinked at my words, looking slightly startled, then grinned as if he was pleased with my answer. I grinned back as I felt myself relax, if Minato was going to trust me to an extent then that meant I was safe for the time being. Kakashi may be the one I was worried about, but when it all came down to it Minato was the one who was in charge which made me confident that he'd stop Kakashi if he tried anything… Ninja-ish on me.

Mentally I kicked myself, ninja-ish? Now I was making up words? Wow, I really do need sleep if I'm making up words. I actually made up words sometimes anyway, but ninja-ish just sounded lame. It wasn't like my other words, prettyful was a word I had made up from a combination of pretty and beautiful, but that made sense and actually blended together rather well. Ninja-ish just sounded awkward.

I scratched the side of my neck as I yawned again, then ended it with a wince from the feeling of raw skin touching raw skin. Minato was frowning again when I looked back at him and I blinked at his 'I'm trying to figure you out' expression, so my face must have showed something of my thoughts before.

I grinned sheepishly at him then, refraining from rubbing the back of my head for the sake of that I knew it would hurt, "Sorry, my mind's wandering off on me. It's been a long few days for me."

"You said you were in a fight…" Minato began, his trailing tone suggesting that he wanted me to fill him in. I hated it when people did that; Pretended to ask a question without it really being a question, more like a half-question or an unfinished statement that they expected someone else to finish. I really wanted to reply with some smart comment, but I couldn't think of one right now. So I settled for the next best thing…

"Yeah," That was it, that was my answer. I just confirmed he had the facts straight, that was it. I didn't really want to explain the situation anyway, it really wasn't his business. The thing between me and Brittany was my problem, my responsibility, and my fight. I would solve it by myself.

He frowned at me as I stared at him with half lidded eyes before I sighed and looked away, frowning to myself. There wasn't a lot I could tell him without giving away that I really, really wasn't from around here. I had no clue how he would react to finding out I was from another world. If I had been fully awake and thinking straight I could have probably come up with a couple different scenarios, but right now I was just drawing blanks.

"I don't know how to explain it to you," I finally said as I looked back at him, "You already know I'm in no shape to be a threat to you and I know the people I fought won't be any match for you." If any of them were here too that is. Was it just dumb luck that Minato, Kakashi, Obito, and Rin had found me rather than someone else? Where were my friends and enemies? Where were the ninja?

I wasn't sure which one to be the most concerned for. As selfish as I knew it was, I was definitely worried about myself at the moment or, more accurately, I was worried about what I was going to do about me waking up in strange place that was definitely _not_ on a map that I could use to get home. I was also started to make myself sick with worry over my friends, they could both take care of themselves in the right situations, but they were also city girls who wouldn't know how to rough it in the woods like I did. Even if the ninja hadn't found me I could have managed just fine on my own. Between Audrey and April I was more worried about Audrey. Audrey just flat out wasn't very strong, she was one of those people who needed someone to look out for her, but I treasured the task and wouldn't give it up for anything.

My enemies were my next worry, despite the fact that I wouldn't have a problem hiding their bodies if given the chance, I still worried about what sort of trouble they could and would get into. Plus they wouldn't know how to react to ninja and everything else weird and unusual they could run into. I couldn't even wrap my mind around all the bad things that could happen to them even if I partly thought they deserved what they got.

The ninja… I wasn't really worried about the ninja. They were ninja after all and some of the most powerful in the Naruto world. They'd be just fine.

I jerked myself upright again and shook my head, trying to keep myself awake. Minato was frowning seriously at me, but he sighed and scratched the back of his head, "We obviously can't just leave you, but we can't take you with us either," He told me and I nodded in agreement, "I don't sense anyone else around, friend or enemy so I'd say it's safe to say your friends aren't around here."

I drooped at that. I'd lost them. I'd failed.

"Hey," Rin said, waving her hands at me, "Don't worry, I'm sure we'll find them." She told me, trying to cheer me up.

"I hope so…" I answered as I smiled shakily at her, but I couldn't say I really believed her. If they weren't here, then where were they? I rubbed the side of my face in frustration, then winced when it stung and lowered my hand.

"You'll camp with us for the night and we'll talk more in the morning when you're more recovered," Minato stated as he straightened and moved down the hill towards the darkening forest, presumably to where we were going to camp for the night. Kakashi 'tched' with annoyed as he glared at me for a moment before turning and falling after Minato. Obito glared at Kakashi's back a moment before turning back to me as I started to push myself to my feet.

I stood there shakily for a moment, feeling a great deal like a newborn colt as I waited for my body to adjust. Rin hovered at my side, ready to help me if I looked ready to fall. I grinned at her as my shaking steadied, "Thanks."

She blinked at me, then grinned back as I started to slowly follow Kakashi and Minato, trying to ignore the fact that every step hurt. Luckily I had gone barefoot all my life and my feet were tough enough that the pain wasn't quite as sharp, or maybe I was getting better.

Rin took up position on my right side, Obito on my left, to help me if I needed it. I was fairly certain I would be fine, but I appreciated the sentiment. How easily they moved compared to the stiffness I felt while walking just made me feel weak compared to them which was another blow to my already damaged pride. I mentally sighed, annoyed at myself as we continued along. I didn't try to start a conversation and I kept getting a vibe that the two of them were just a bit uncomfortable with my silence, but I couldn't help it, I was concentrating on keeping my balance.

We walked for several minutes and Minato and Kakashi's forms kept shrinking as I realized I was slowing down, though I refused to complain or stop. I even had to fight to keep my breathing stable so I wouldn't start panting from exertion. If Rin and Obito noticed, they were kind enough not to say anything which I greatly appreciated.

Minato and Kakashi had disappeared in front of us, but Rin had moved slightly ahead of me and I followed her lead without comment. We finally rounded a large tree that had several large rocks naturally forming a small overhang at the tree's base that also hid us partly from view. There was also a fire with something cooking on it, I guessed rabbit from the size and smell, which made my stomach rumble loudly.

All four of them looked at me and I grinned sheepishly in reply as I tried to think of when I had eaten last. I hadn't eaten much before the fight since it was a fight and getting hit in the gut with a full stomach was _not_ fun. I'd eaten once piece of pizza for energy for the fight, but I hadn't planned on something like this happening after the fight. I'd planned on running Brittany and her Pack off, then eating afterwards. I always ate after training if I could help it, a fight was no different.

Minato chuckled softly as Rin giggled and Obito did his best _not_ to laugh even if he did find my rumbly tummy funny. I kept grinning as I eased myself down to a sitting position and crossed my legs pretzel style with my hands resting on my thighs. I couldn't help the sigh of relief I heaved as I let my body relax and I closed my eyes for a moment. Movement at my side made me open my eyes and turn my head as Rin sat down beside me with a small smile that I returned. I was glad for the company.

The rabbit or whatever it was had finished cooking so Minato took it off the fire and divided it out among the five of us. I waited until everyone had theirs and even watched Minato begin eating before digging into mine. I was hungry and at the moment it was the best thing I had ever tasted. I wasn't really full as I licked my fingers clean, but I wasn't about to complain since I wasn't now starving.

"Thank you," I told Minato meaning the food, then glanced around at Kakashi, Rin, and Obito, "All of you," I didn't really mean Kakashi since he hadn't done anything for me and would probably kill me if given the chance, but I guess I'd make an effort to be nice to him for now. He was going to go through a major change soon, plus he was awesome sauce in the future so I could give him the benefit of a doubt.

"You're welcome," Rin answered grinning at me. Obito was smiling slightly too along with Minato while Kakashi was pointedly ignoring me.

"Get some rest now," Minato ordered me, "We have some planning to do in the morning," He told me along with his three students. I didn't much care for being ordered around, but this Minato, the future Fourth Hokage, plus his order was one I intended to follow anyway…

Nodding in agreement I pulled my knees up to my chest with my arms tucked between my legs and stomach and rested my head on my knees. It probably looked odd, but I didn't really care since it meant that I was warm and I wouldn't wake up with too many cramps in the morning. I was still worried about my friends and enemies, but right now sleep was calling to me and I was all too willing to obey it's call as I dropped off to sleep…

Unfortunately, I didn't get to sleep immediately. As soon as the darkness of sleep has claimed me it began to swirl and change, lightening as it turned into a dream. I mentally groaned, probably aloud too, as I tried to push the dream away. Usually I could push a dream away if I really, really didn't want to dream, but this one wasn't letting me.

If anything, the transaction from darkness to light went faster...

When it was over I found myself looking up at a thin layer of clouds drifting lazily across a crystal blue sky. The scene itself made me smile as I began looking for shapes in the clouds when I realized I was standing up. Frowning I looked down at my feet and _I was standing on a wall._

I wasn't sure how I knew it was a wall, but it was exactly how I would picture a wall in my head with a smooth, polished granite surface interrupted by minuscule cracks that marked where the blocks were stacked together. Plus they were rounded slightly which made me realize that what I was standing on wasn't a wall at all, but a tower.

Why in the world was I standing on the side of a tower!? It made no sense!

I looked from side to side around me, generally afraid. What was going on!?

"_**No need to panic,"**_ An amused, feminine voice told me as something brushed against my shines and wound around one leg like a cat would. Looking down I discovered it _was_ a cat, a beautiful, white cat with bright blue eyes and a pale pink collar on.

I stared at the cat for several long moments as she stared back, looking amused with me as she sat down and curled her tail around her feet looking smug at the same time, "Was that you?"

The cat 'mrrpt' in amusement as she stood back up and arched her back proudly, _**"Indeed. I am Kabegami,"**_ She told me as she turned and walked up the wall before sitting back down, _**"I control walls and surfaces as Kasugami controls Time. Since you arrival in the Ninja World you may use my power as they do."**_

I nodded dumbly as I stared at her, "So that means I can just walk up a tree or wall when I wake up?"

"_**Exactly,"**_ Kabegami answered, swishing her tail, _**"Control of chakra will also be easier for you and you should be able to learn jutsus from the ninja you are with fairly easily," **_She paused a moment, _**"After all, you do have me. Now, go to sleep. You can talk to me the same as Kasugami whenever you wish."**_

"Alight," I agreed with a yawn, "No argument there. Good night," I told her as the world swirled to black and I fell into real slumber.

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**Lookie, no cliffie!! ^_^**

**Aren't y'all proud of me?**


	30. The Mission Begins

**Whew, so I had to cut this chapter short or it would've ended up being over 4,000 words long... But that's okay right? Since it means I've already got a portion of the next chapter done. ^^**

**You'll also notice I didn't put in the page breaks. Thats because they were being weird and messing up... .**

**Words- 3,263**

**CrossWorlds ~ Part One ~ The Beginning ~ Chapter Thirty ~ The Mission Begins**

I slept without dreaming after meeting Kabegami, which I was thoroughly grateful for. I was awoken by someone shaking my shoulder, trying to get me to wake up. I groaned at them and moved away from the contact while mumbling, "Go'way…"

I heard a sigh in response and my shoulder was shaken again, this time I growled and opened my eye a crack to glare at the perpetrator, that turned out to be Minato. I glared at him while he merely grinned in amusement back at me. I groaned again and shut my eye before putting my arm over my head. I'd moved in my sleep so I was curled up laying on my side.

"C'mon now," He urged, still shaking me gently, "We need to figure out a plan."

I sighed and jerked away from his hand as I sat up, wincing with the stiffness that comes from sleeping on a hard surface, but thankfully the bone deep ache I'd had yesterday was gone. I sighed again, this time with relief as I rubbed the sleep from my eyes and glared at him again, I wasn't a morning person.

"And we need to know your name," He added on, making me blink. We hadn't made introductions? Flicking through the past little bit that I'd met him I discovered we hadn't.

"I'm Ali," I told him as I pulled the rubber band out of my hair and began finger combing the mess. A shower would have been awesome at the moment, but I doubted that would be possible for quite some time.

"Surname?" He asked, looking slightly suspicious.

"Mae," I told him, "Ali Mae," A few of my teachers even addressed me that way rather than just using my first name like most people do. I can't say I minded it too much though, it has a nice ring to it after all. I tilted my head to the side, regarding him curiously as I waiting for him to introduce himself even though I already knew his name.

"Minato Namikaze," He replied was a grin that reminded me a great deal of Naruto. I smiled lightly, the thought that Naruto would never get to meet him aside from when Minato would appear to reseal the Kyuubi.

"I'm Obito of the great Uchiha clan," Obito told me proudly with a grin and a thumbs up. I grinned back as I put my hair back up into a pony tail. In my opinion Obito was an Uchiha version of Naruto with his mannerism and even more so with how his hair was styled.

"I'm Rin," Rin added on with a smile as she set out something on a large rock across from where the fire had been. I hoped it was breakfast, the rabbit or whatever they had fed me last night was gone and I was ready for something to eat.

I looked at the final member of their squad, the silver haired Kakashi waiting for him to introduce himself. He had his back to all of us as he stared out into the forest, presumably keeping watch, but after a few moments of silence it became evident he was ignoring us. My lips twitched in a smirk, but I didn't say anything as I turned to Rin and Obito. Rin was obviously disappointed in her teammate and Obito's expression read as highly annoyed.

"That's Kakashi," Rin supplied with forced cheerfulness.

I frowned at Kakashi's back as I placed my elbow on my knee and rested my chin in the palm of my hand. A good night's sleep had done me a lot of good as I felt a smirk curl my lips as I watched his back, "Guess since his hair is gray he doesn't hear well anymore."

I told Rin, insulting then ignoring Kakashi as I turned back to face Rin. I froze however at the feel of something cold and sharp against my neck. Moving only my eyes I looked up at Kakashi with a frown as I narrowed my eyes at him. He glared down at me while holding a kunai against my neck, just behind my jugular vein, poised to strike.

I was very, very tempted to stop time and move away, just to show him up, but I also knew that my time control powers weren't something I should go around showing off. Instead I remained silent, waiting for him to make the first move. I _had_ just insulted him, so I suppose he was allowed to be a little angry with me but this was taking things a little far.

"Hey!" Obito objected, standing up looking angry.

"Don't!" Rin added as she stood up.

"Kakashi," Minato said quietly, warningly, though unlike the other two he made no move to get up. The tension in the air was thick enough I could almost feel it on my skin and Kakashi's anger was a steady fizzle behind his eyes as we continued to glare at each other.

Well, more like he glared. I had let my face relax and let my eyes slid half closed. I calmed my mind as sensei had taught me, slid into battle-mind without a second thought as things seemed to slow down. I usually only used battle-mindset if I was going into a fight, but then again I was facing off with a ninja and if battle-mind gave me the edge I needed to stop time and get my butt out of there I would use it.

"_**You can slow Time too you know,"**_ Kasugami's familiar voice murmured softly at the back of my head. I was a bit surprised to hear from him, but the soft, slow way he had spoken allowed me to keep my face schooled to blackness and he didn't even disturb my mindset too badly.

"_That would have been helpful to know before,"_ I told him with a bit of annoyance. Giving a mental sigh and focused more on Kasugami, _"How do I do it?"_ I asked him.

"_**Simple,"**_ He answered, _**"You would do it the same way you would stop Time," **_Kasugami continued as if it was the most natural thing in the world, _**"You **_**willed**_** Time to **_**'Stop'**_** before. Now you simply will it to '**_**Slow.'"**

It sounded easy enough, but I didn't really feel like experimenting with my life like that. If things got any worse I'd just stop time instead, it was safer for me even though it meant I was chancing giving up the secret of it. I suppose if anything I could tell Minato, he was intelligent and with him being who he was I was confident that he would help me if I asked for it.

Kakashi finally moved the kunai away from my neck and put it back in its pouch. I heaved a mental sigh of relief as I let myself relax but I also tried not to give an outward sign. I blinked at him and tilted my head so I was looking straight at him rather than out of the corner of my eye. I looked straight at him because I wanted him to know I wasn't afraid of him, that I wasn't going to back down just because he threatened me.

He narrowed his eyes at me and I wanted to narrow mine back, but instead I kept my face passive. Well, I didn't glare back anyway, I just kind of looked at him. I knew his past, I knew how he felt about it all, and I couldn't help but feel sorry for him. Plus I knew what was _going_ to happen to him. This knowing how the story went was more of curse than a blessing for things like this…

Something must have shown on my face or in my eyes since the next thing I knew Kakashi had me shoved against the tree at our back with a kunai embedded in the bark beside my head. I blinked, staring wide eyed into his cold gray eyes that were so close that our noses brushed each other. I made some sort of 'Ep!' sound as I realized what had happened and reacted without really thinking.

Years of karate and self-defense classes took over as I brought my knee up into his groin while bringing my left elbow up into his chin and pushing him away with my right hand. I was shocked when he flew backwards head over heels before he rolled to his feet looking ready to kill me once again.

Before he could return any blows though Minato was between us, his back to me and it looked as if he has his arms crossed across his chest. I blinked a moment before relaxing and moving to stand by Rin so I could see both of them. Minato was glaring at Kakashi, obviously displeased with his behavior as Kakashi glared back.

I didn't really understand Kakashi's reaction, well, the first part I did, but I didn't understand why he had pinned me against the tree. Had he seen the pity I had for him? If he had, why had it upset him so, did he think I was looking down on him?

That made sense considering what I knew of Kakashi's character at this time. I wanted to help him, but I knew I couldn't. If I changed something here and now it could, and probably would, affect the future. I couldn't risk that since I didn't know how it would affect _my_ world if I screwed up this world.

Plus Kakashi would turn out alright, his life would be fairly horrible up until then, but I think what will happen to him needs to happen to make him into the person he needs to be. It was sad, but probably necessary. Kakashi had a long, hard road ahead of him. I could only hope I didn't make him take a wrong turn.

"Kakashi," Minato said again with a sigh as he rubbed the back of his head, "And Ali," He added on, looking at me out of the corner of his eye. I blinked at him and raised my head up to look more directly at him to let him know I was listening.

"Kakashi," He began again, "You shouldn't let your emotions get the best of you like that and pick a fight with someone," Kakashi 'tched' and looked away as he crossed his arms over his chest. Minato turned to me then, looking serious, "And you, Ali," I blinked, feeling nervous, Minato was one of the last people I ever expected to meet in the Naruto world and I definitely didn't want someone like him mad at me, "You said you're not a ninja, but you obviously know how to fight based on your reaction to Kakashi…"

There it was again, that annoying end of a sentence that he expected me to fill. I looked away as I rubbed the side of my neck, wondering how to handle this. Just _how_ did I explain self defense and karate classes to them? "Uh…" I began as I looked back at him, "I have no idea how to explain it to you," I told him truthfully, "I'm from very far away and I don't know what to compare it to here…"

It _was_ the truth, but he didn't look very happy with my answer as he frowned at me. I groaned mentally, maybe I should just stop time and run away… Pft. Like _that_ would work, these were _ninja_ they'd have my butt tracked down and back here within minutes. Plus if Kakashi could summon Pukkun and the other ninja hound by now I was doubly done for. I was probably done for anyway…

"What are you doing here anyway?" Minato asked, as he crossed his arms and faced me, "You do realize there is a war going on here right now, don't you?"

I blinked and stared at him with a horrified expression. What the heck could I tell him!? I knew about the war, I even knew what was going to _happen_!! I couldn't tell him that though, they'd think I was more insane than they probably already did! What was I going to do!?

"I'll take that as a 'no' then," He said with some amusement, but with seriousness at the same time.

I started, blinking wide eyed at him. Wait, he thought I didn't know about the war? I almost sighed with relief, but I kept my shoulders tense as I looked out into the forest as I thought and pretended to look worried. Which wasn't much of an act, just how long could I keep up the pretense of not knowing anything when I knew what was going to happen?

I nibble on my thumbnail as I tried to come up with a solution. It was already obvious what I was going to have to do though… I was going to have to pretend that I _didn't_ know anything. I was going to have to let people _die_.

I hated myself instantly.

"So now we've got _another_ useless person," Kakashi said arrogantly as he sat down where we was and poked the fish Rin had been cooking with a sharpened stick, presumably to see if they were done.

I shook my head and rolled my eyes while frowning as Obito growled and half shouted a reply, "Wha-What's that suppose to me?!"

I sighed and rubbed my forehead, these two acted almost exactly like Naruto and Sasuke. The thought caused a snorted laugh to escape me, but I tried to cover it up with a cough as I sat down beside Rin grinning with amusement, "Act kinda like brothers don't they?"

Both boys startled and turned to look at me with a mix of irritation and outrage on their faces. Obito pointed a finger at Kakashi, "There's no way I'd be related to a jerk like him!"

"Humpf," Kakashi added, looking away and crossing his arms in a way that made me think of Sasuke again, "As if I could possibly be related to a loser like him."

My lips trembled as I kept back a laugh, they really did act a lot like Naruto and Sasuke. I put my elbow on my knee and rested my chin in my palm as I regarded them with obvious amusement. I grinned at them and gave a noncommittal answer, "Heh."

Although this was hugely entertaining, it was sad at the same time. I couldn't push them together to be friends like I wanted to, they would bond with each other, but it would be too late in the end. It was bittersweet.

Obito and Kakashi glared at each other a moment before looking away and taking seats on the opposite sides of the fire, Obito sitting beside Rin while Kakashi stayed on the opposite side. I had to hold in a laugh again at the childishness of it and reminded myself that they were only twelve despite the skills they had. They were ninja after all, I expected them to be stronger, if not overall_ better_ than a twelve year old from my world. That was a bit depressing in its own way, if I'd appeared here when I was twelve I wouldn't have stood a chance. As it was I was I was closer to Minato's age, from what I knew, and less than half as helpful or capable as Kakashi, Obito, or Rin. Kakashi's 'useless' comment hadn't been too far off after all.

It was a bit disheartening, but since I hadn't been trained as a ninja I suppose it was alright that I was outmatched. "Here," Rin said to get my attention then handed me something wrapped in rough brown cloth about half the size of a loaf of bread, "its breakfast."

"Thanks," I answered her with a smile as I took it and unwrapped it. It turned out to be bread and cheese and after taking a bite I discovered the bread was seasoned and even a little spicy. Everything was quiet as we ate as everyone's mouths were full with food. It was a little tense, but that tension was fading so it was alright.

It didn't take long for all of us to finish eating. Afterwards I sat and watched Rin, Obito, Kakashi, and Minato prepare their pack still wondering what I was going to do. Were they going to leave me here or take me with them? I didn't have a long wait as Minato turned to me and gestured for me to stand. I stood and waited for him to speak, the other three had already gone down the hill and were standing waiting for us. Maybe Minato was going to leave me here after all.

"Although taking you with us isn't a good idea leaving you here isn't an option," Minato told me and I nodded in understanding, "You'll stay with us until we can find a place to leave you safely or we are attacked. We will do what we can to protect you, but there is only so much we will be able to do."

I frowned as I drew my eyebrows together. Going with them was dangerous but staying here alone was even more dangerous. If I stayed here and was attacked I probably wouldn't stand a chance of surviving, but if I went with them they could protect me a little at least, "I understand."

_I just wish I wasn't so useless…_

He nodded and started down the hill with me following. "So today Kakashi is in charge, got it?" Minato told the three of them as the gathered together in a circle with me standing outside feeling out of place, "We'll stick together until the border. From there, we split up and set about our own missions," I really had a sense of déjà vu there since I had read those same lines in the manga before, "Keep an eye out for a place we can hide Ali until the mission is over as well."

"Yes sir!" All three said in unison. I smiled slightly at the sight as they all put their hands in together, like I had done when I was little when I had played team based games like softball with other kids. Though those occasions were rare, I suck at softball and no one wanted me on their team.

No one spoke after that as Kakashi set off in the lead followed by Obito, then Rin. I followed after her with Minato behind me, presumably watching all of our backs. About thirty minutes into our walk a buzzing at the back of my head signaled the onset of a headache, possibly a migraine. I didn't say anything though, I could work through it if I had to, but I'd be grumpy later.

Another thirty minutes passed, the buzz of the headache fluctuating, probably due to the differences in lighting in the forest we were in. Kakashi stopped suddenly and swept an arm back, signaling us to stop. My shoulders tensed involuntarily, this was also familiar, we were about to be attacked.

**Yes, I really just left all of you on another cliffhanger, but if you read the manga you know what's going to happen anyway... Kinda... Sorta... ^^**

**Any way, now for something IMPORTANT.**

**Ready? This is just to check to see how many of you actually read my author's notes.**

**Now then, I have a friend who is writing a story and it's AWESUME, but the problem is that she hasn't got a lot of reveiws on her stories before so she's not going to update this one again until she gets a set number of updates. No, I'm not telling you the number so more of you will review it.**

**But here's the deal, because she's my friend and I'm mean, I'm not updating CrossWorlds again until _I_ think she's gotten enough reviews. ^^**

**Her username is 'Aka Pine' and the story is 'Shaping Bonsais.' The story and author can be found on my favorites lists, so after you review here go to my userpage and go read and review her story.**

**Another reason I'm doing that to all of you is because she gave me my 600th review and it makes me very, very, very happy. ^^**

**I wuve you Sam1!! And Sam2!! And AJ!! And Audrey!! And all of my lovely readers who shall leave me lots of review, yes?**


	31. A Day in the Ninja World

**That wasn't too long a wait was it? I think I'm finally back on track, but I make no promises, life does happen.**

**All of you lovely readers need to thank Sam(Aka Pine), Snow(dreamkitty26), and AJ(who needs to make an account on here!!) who keep after me to update. XD**

**I used the manga for a lot, I mean a LOT of reference for this to keep it as close to cannon as possible. For most of the lines and reactions I took them directly out of the manga. I actually used two different sources for the manga though, the first and main one I used is the copy you can probably by at almost any bookstore in the US(or Walmart in my case), the second was and since they have people translating it's not exactly the same. Most of it came out of the boughten book, but there were one or two lines I took from .**

**And since I haven't done this before I guess I better do it now so I don't get sued or something(even though I highly doubt I'd get sued for writing a fanfic on a fanfiction site)...**

**Naruto doesn't belong to me, if I did Sasuke wouldn't still be alive and Itachi, Kisame, Minato, Obito, Zabuza, Haku, and numberous other characters would still be alive...**

**Enjoy~**

**Words- 3,539**

**CrossWorlds ~ Part One ~ The Beginning ~ Chapter Thirty-One ~ A Day in the Ninja World**

I swallowed and glanced around, directing my gaze more at the tree tops since I knew that was where the Stone ninja was hiding even though I didn't expect I would be able to see him.

We took cover behind a giant tree root as Minato planted a finger against the ground, "Be alert everyone," He told us, "There're at least twenty… But I believe they're shadow doppelgangers."

They were, but I couldn't tell them that, they'd find out in a moment anyway.

"Yes, that seems likely," Kakashi answered Minato, "Master, if I charge, will you back me up?" I frowned, directing my gaze towards the tree tops again, wincing as the buzzing of my headache got worse. I couldn't see them at the moment, but I knew Obito and Rin were throwing their teammate concerned looks.

"Let's not rush Kakashi," Minato answered as he looked at his pupil, "Why don't you back me up instead," He suggested. Even _I _knew that was a better idea…

"Pardon me, Master," Kakashi answered, "You did say I'm in charge today?" He questioned as he brought his hand in front of him and clawed his fingers. I recognized the beginnings of the Chidori instantly as he continued, "I want to try out a new jutsu I'm working out right now."

Even as he said the last bit the sound of chirping birds began and in less time than it takes to blink later he had a full blown Chidori crackling with lightning from his palm. I watched him from the corner of my eye, careful to keep my expression neutral even as Obito and Rin responded with shocked looks.

I winced and pressed a hand to my temple, shutting my eyes against the intense buzzing still building at the back of my head. The noise from Kakashi's Chidori wasn't helping, but their backs were to me when I cracked an eye open to look at them so I didn't say anything and tried to feign being fine.

"Let's move!!" Kakashi told them and was about to charge when Minato held a hand out in front of him making Kakashi jerk to a stop with surprise. They both stayed like that for several long moments, neither looking at each other nor speaking during those moments.

"Even if there's a lot of enemies," Kakashi broke the silence, his voice low and serious, "This jutsu can do it in an instant," He continued in the same tone, "It's the same as your namesake."

That made me blink, had Kakashi created the Chidori to surpass Minato? It made sense considering his personality at the moment. I didn't say anything or even look at him as I concentrated on the forest around me. I remembered in the manga that one of the shadow clones had popped out of the ground to attack Obito and Minato had to save him.

_Someone is probably going to have to save me too…_

The thought wasn't flattering, but it was realistic. I tried to focus on the world around me rather than the headache that had been building up and hoped that it wouldn't be great enough to hinder my senses. I focused on Kakashi and Minato as Kakashi spoke again.

"Besides," He finished, still in the same tone before it changed to what I considered arrogant superiority, like when someone is bragging and feels the need to prove it, "Now, I'm commander!" I watched them out of the corner of my eye. Minato's back was to me, but I knew the look of suppressed emotion he looked at Kakashi wordlessly. Kakashi spoke further, this time his tone made me think of someone being matter-of-fact about something, but pretending not to be, "Cell members must follow the leader. Isn't that the rule? Master?"

I frowned and glared at Kakashi from where I was crouched against the tree root. He was such an arrogant little brat! If he wasn't a ninja and if I caught him talking to someone like that back home, I would have Gibbs-smacked him and made him apologize. At least he was going to get it for his trouble and get showed up by the Stone ninja.

I had looked away to hide my expression and I was glad I had been ready for it, otherwise I would have jumped at Kakashi's sudden departure. The sound of him going _through_ the tree root with the Chidori sounded like a tree being forcibly crushed, and being chopped into firewood at the same time. I cringed slightly at the sound as it grated against my ears and intensified my headache briefly before easing up just as suddenly as Kakashi was gone, charging towards the Stone ninja. At least the sound of the Chidori was gone.

I held back a sigh of relief and watched as Minato countered the Stone ninja's kunai with his own while Kakashi charge onward. Looking past Minato to Obito and Rin, I smiled slightly at their expression as they watched Kakashi charge. It was impressive to see, I'd give Kakashi that, but it was also stupid and reckless while he put himself pointlessly in danger.

I knew Kakashi would be charging up and eventually go _through_ one of the giant mushrooms. It would certainly be a sight to see, but Kakashi's arrogance was about to get the best of him too. A sound to my left drew my attention to the space beyond Obito where the ground was bulging up. My eyes widened as I groped around on the ground until my hand closed around a rock the size of a small chicken egg.

I griped the rock hard enough that the sharp edges bit almost painfully into my palm. Obito has just noticed the ground to and had turned to look at it when the Stone ninja appeared out of the ground. Obito reacted with surprise jerking backward and providing me with an opening to hurl the rock at the enemy ninja. I got lucky and hit him in the side of the face right before Minato slashed it with a kunai and it dissolved into smoke, signaling that it was a shadow clone.

"Don't let your guard down!" Minato yelled at Obito who looked ready to burst into tears. I winced, this was a hard thing to force upon children. They were twelve! Twelve year olds should not be killing people in a war!

"Y-yes sir!" Obito replied, but Minato missed it as the Stone ninja's voice cut through the air, "Don't push your luck runt!"

That got Minato's attention and he was suddenly just _gone_. I sat up suddenly to look over the tree root just in time to see Minato pull Kakashi out of the way of getting cut in half by the Stone ninja's katana. I could only stare at the impossibleness of it. Minato had caught Kakashi in the middle with one arm and was pushing them out of the way with the other and both of his feet were off the ground.

"Woah…" I whispered in awe. It was one thing to see something and read about it, it was quite another to watch it happen in front of you. Minato and Kakashi reappeared behind us a moment later as the Stone ninja retreated. I turned around to face the two of them with Rin rushing forward with a cry of, "Kakashi!"

Minato may have saved Kakashi from being cut in half, but the Stone ninja's katana had still cut Kakashi's right shoulder fairly good. Minato began to take off his backpack and vanished before it even hit the ground. My eyes widened in surprise as I glanced over my shoulder in the direction he had went. He had gone to kill the Stone ninja.

In the mean time Rin had knelt beside Kakashi and was using her medical ninjutsu to work on Kakakshi's shoulder wound. Minato reappeared after a few minutes and I knew he had killed the Stone ninja. I couldn't say I felt too bad about it since he had been trying to kill us though.

I rubbed the side of my head and blinked when I realized my headache had lessened to almost nothing. That was a relief, I couldn't afford to be distracted in a place like this.

"Kakashi's wound isn't trivial," Minato began, "We'll retreat for now and set up camp," He told us. I stood up, stretching my legs that had gone stiff for being tense and sitting down for so long.

"I'm fine!" Kakashi protested. I covered a snort of a laugh with a cough, though I didn't really need to as Obito spoke up.

"What's so fine about it!" Obito demanded rudely. I was of like mind that Kakashi had been reckless, but it definitely wasn't my place to say so. Obito could though and did as he continued, "It's your fault for ignoring the Master and acting reckless!"

_Here we go…_

"I told you not to talk to me that way," Kakashi snapped back as he glared at the Uchiha while Rin continued working on his wound, "Surely not you, the spineless crybaby of the elite Uchiha clan!"

Outrage twisted Obito's face as he sputtered, "Wh-What!?" He half-yelled angrily, "It was…" He searched for an excuse, "I got dust in my eye!"

It was a lame excuse, like the old trick of saying 'I fell down' rather than telling someone you were in a fight. I'd never used it, I always admitted it when I had been in a fight and with who. It may have made a me a bit hated by my classmates and labeled as a 'snitch' or 'tattle-tale' but since I won all my fights no one really wanted to mess with me besides Brittany who was too stupid to know better.

"Do you know the 25th rule of Shinobi Conduct?" Kakashi demanded angrily, "A shinobi must not show tears. That's the law!"

A very stupid law in my opinion, telling someone not to cry when a comrade or friend dies is like telling water to run uphill. It just isn't possible.

"Hey, guys," Rin cut it, "Knock it off," She told them, but boys will be boys and they continued to glare angrily at each other.

"That's quite enough you two," Minato said, his tone making me look at him with wide eyes along with Obito, Rin, and Kakashi. He sounded as close to angry as I had ever seen him and he came across as a very easy-going guy. Then again, if people I was supposed to look out for had put each other in danger I wouldn't have been happy with them either.

"Kakashi," Minato began, directing his attention and next words to the silver haired ninja, "Rules and regulations are certainly important, but they're not everything," He stated simply. It was good advice, but I didn't wholly agree with it.

_Rules are made be to broken, bounds are made to be tested, and if it comes down to following the rules or doing what's right I'll break any so called rules that stand in my way._

It was something I'd thought of long ago when I decided I didn't care what happened to me as long as my friends were safe. I was still worried about Audrey and April, but there was just nothing I could do for them right now. I couldn't find them and I was having enough trouble looking after myself.

"Remember how I taught you," Minato continued, still speaking to Kakashi, "At times you must adapt, and take steps appropriate to the situation at hand," He finished, making me blink. Wasn't that what I was doing? Adapting to stay alive in a tough situation in a place far different from anything I had ever known?

Kakashi made no reply, but stared wordlessly at the ground after such a rebuke, a gentle one in my opinion. Obito chose then to speak up, "See!" He told Kakashi, pointing a finger at him, "Listen up!"

My lips twitched in a smile, though none of them were looking at me to see it.

"As for you Obito," Minato continued, turning to the Uchiha boy next, "Dust can't get in your eyes when you're wearing goggles," He told him and Obito's embarrassed expression made me giggle smother a giggle, though no one noticed as Minato continued, "It's fine to speak of self control, but you must be strong at heart, not just in words."

Minato's words made me question myself. I put on a strong face and attitude in front of other people to the point that I could probably even fool myself, but it made me wonder if I was as strong at heart as I wanted to believe I was. Something like that was something I didn't think a person should judge themselves on.

"That was a nice hit with that rock though, Ali," Minato complimented me with a slight smile, as if he sensed my discomfort. I smiled my thanks as he turned back to the others.

"And one more thing Kakashi," Minato continued, "About that new jutsu of yours, you shouldn't use it anymore," He said. Kakashi's eyes widened as he stared at his master in shock as Minato continued, "From what I saw, it's a strike with a single focus. It certainly has speed and destructive power, but it makes you move too fast to ascertain the opponent's counterattack," He told Kakashi, "It's still imperfect."

Kakashi was silent at his words and I looked away. It may have been imperfect now, but the Chidori, also known as the Lightning Blade and One-thousand Birds for the chirping sound it made would make Kakashi famous in the future.

"Before we part, let me say one more thing," Minato spoke again and I recalled this was where he gave them possibly the most important advice he would ever give them. If I was remembering right, I thought an older Kakashi would say almost the same words to Team 7, "For Shinobi, the one thing important above all else is teamwork."

Obito, Rin, and Kakashi made no reply to that, but remained guiltily silent. I looked away too, had I worked with my teammates or had I ignored them like Kakashi had his? I really hadn't I had been too busy protecting them, neither Audrey nor April were really strong enough to protect themselves.

"Now," Minato said to get our attention, "Let's get going."

We all stood up at that as Minato picked up his pack and put his arms through the straps and started walking with us following. I stuck my hands in my pockets as I followed behind Obito. Rin and Kakashi were in front of Obito following Minato. It probably wasn't the safest formation for me, but I trusted that my ninja companions would sense trouble before it got to us.

I tried to focus more on the world around me, hoping that the skills Kabegami had given me would help out. I needed to practice with her power soon and find out just what I needed to do to work it. Now that I wasn't exhausted and in pain I was thinking more clearly and I had a lot of questions.

Mostly along the lines of how I got here and how I was going to get home. Just what in the world, or worlds as the case was, was going on? Why was all of this happening?

_Well? Anyone there?_

I directed my thought inward, hoping that someone would answer. I waited for several minutes, listening with both my ears and mind, but either all the little voices in my head were sleeping or they were ignoring me. I got no reply to my question.

I guess I was going to have to figure this mess out on my own.

I was a bit mad that Kasugami and Kabegami weren't answering me. I had been under the impression that it was their job to help me. It wasn't really helpful when I didn't have all the facts and didn't know what was going on.

I wasn't quite sure how long we walked for in silence as I turned things over in my head before Minato lead us to a vaguely familiar looking tree with a boulder underneath it. It wasn't the tree we'd camped at last night, but I knew I'd seen it before, probably in the manga itself.

No one said a word as I watched them roll out their sleeping bags. They didn't start a fire, I assumed it was due to how deep we were in enemy territory. Rin handed out bread and cheese and an apple to each of us without a word and no one said anything back.

I frowned to myself. This was a bit ridiculous. Sure, I sulk too when I know I made a mistake, but this was taking thing to a bit of an extreme. When you make a mistake, you acknowledge it, correct it if possible, make sure you don't do it again, and move on. At least, that's what I kept telling myself. Some mistakes were just too big to ever get over.

Still, I was going to make an effort, so when Rin handed me my food I offered a smile, "Thanks."

She jerked slightly, as if surprised someone had spoken, especially me. Silence followed and I could feel the males looking at me, but I didn't look back at them. Rin stared at me a moment before smiling tentatively back, "You're welcome."

I grinned to myself as she turned to hand Obito his food and bit into my apple. I fought to keep from making a face at its bitter taste, but ate it anyway. I wasn't one to turn down food when I was hungry, plus the bread and cheese would erase the taste of it so I could take it. Once I finished the apple I ate the cheese on the bread and finished in time with everyone else.

I remained silent along with everyone else this time. I didn't have anything else to use to break the silence. Sighing mentally rather than draw attention to myself I leaned back against the bolder at my back, which was the smaller of the two under the tree, and it was just large enough when I leaned my head back I could look up through the tree at the stars.

I sat there for quite a while just looking at the stars as the silence stretched on. I had made my effort to help out and nothing had happened and I wasn't really in the mood to help people who didn't want my help. It didn't really matter if I cheered them up now anyway, things would get bad again soon enough.

"Ali," Minato finally spoke, getting my attention and breaking the silence. I lifted my head up and blinked to let him know I was listening, but otherwise I didn't say anything. He hadn't said anything worthy of an answer yet anyway, "This is where you will remain behind when we leave tomorrow."

I blinked again, this time in surprise. Wouldn't our campsite yesterday have been safer? It had been further away from enemy territory than this spot was. I didn't ask aloud, but merely nodded in reply that I understood, "Alright. Do you know how long you'll be gone?"

I knew it would only be for roughly two days if I included tonight, but I felt like I was expected to ask him _something._

He shook his head, "No, but I expect it won't be more than a couple days," He answered my question, "While we're gone you need to stay hidden as best you can and stay near this spot. If you are captured by the enemy we will be unable to help you."

He didn't say it as bluntly as I would have, but I understood what he was saying. He was telling me that if I was captured I would most likely be killed. I nodded seriously, "I understand."

Minato looked like he didn't really believe I really understood, but he nodded anyway, "Good. The four of us will be leaving at dawn. I'll wake you then so get some sleep."

"Yes sir," I answered as I joined Rin, Obito, and Kakashi to stretch out on the ground. I called very few people 'sir' when I addressed them, but Minato was one of the people I thought deserved a little bit of respect at least…

I yawned and rolled over on my side and let my eyes slide closed. I was exhausted from the day I'd had and I was asleep in moments…

**No cliffie! XD**

**Okay, I lied at the beginning of the chapter, I may not be completely regular with the next chapter as I want to start working on like three other story ideas I have right now and I'm afraid if I don't at least get them started I'll forget about them. ^^U**

**I'm not sure which one to do first though....**


	32. A Dream and a Goodbye

**I actually wanted to get this out yesterday, but it didn't happen... Anyway...**

**HAPPY (slightly late) BIRTHDATY TO CROSSWORLDS!!!**

**Yep, it's been exactly one year and one day since I submitted the first chapter. I'm a bit disappointed with myself that I'm still only on Part One though with the plot I have planned out for this.**

**Anyway, on with the show... er... story.**

**Words-2,508**

* * *

**CrossWorlds ~ Part One ~ The Beginning ~ Chapter Thirty-Two ~ A Dream and a Goodbye**

I sighed with irritation as I found myself standing on an empty plain. Grass in various shades of green with a hint of yellow or brown stretched as far as I could see before meeting a bright blue sky with masses of fluffy white clouds drifting lazily along scattered about. It wasn't that it wasn't a pretty thing to see, but I preferred the night and forests to open plains.

Open plains like this made me feel… Vulnerable…

True, in a forest an enemy or predator could hide behind trees while they stalked their prey, but that prey could just as easily use those same trees for escape. I was just more at home in the woods than on a plain, I had practically lived in one most of my childhood after all.

I turned in a circle as I looked around, but, besides a slight change in the shape of the clouds, it all looked the same. Plus the sun was directly overhead so I couldn't tell which way was which. I scratched my head as I tried to come up with a plan, but my mind wasn't wanting to cooperate with me and it stayed black.

I knew this was a dream, but that didn't stop me from trying to figure out what was going on or what I was supposed to do. I sighed in irritation as I glared at the scenery. I wouldn't have minded the plain so much if the grass hadn't been so tall. The grass I was used to, _normal_ grass, was not almost chest high. I stuck out horribly in the wide open landscape and I didn't know who or _what_ could be hiding where I couldn't see it.

I shifted nervously where I stood and sucked in a deep breath and held it a moment before letting it out slowly. I needed to calm down and think rationally. This was a dream. I knew that much, I could just wake myself up, but then I'd feel like I was running away. I sighed again and looked up at the sky, watching as the clouds drifted lazily across it.

_I wish I was a cloud…_

I blinked at the thought, then laughed out loud. I was sounding like Shikamaru, only probably not as smart. Only I wanted be to be cloud right now so I could see what was around me.

The sound of grass shifting behind me, besides the gentle swish it had been making the whole time, made me tense up suddenly and I felt my heart jump in my chest. I scowled to myself at that, why was I getting so worked up over a _dream_? It was a dream after all, I could wake myself up or, since I knew it was a dream, pull a sword out of the grass if I needed it.

Reining in my rampant mind I steeled myself as I turned around to face whatever was behind me. I actually kept my eyes cast towards the ground for several moments before raising them to meet the eyes of a… Wolf…

I stared, slightly disappointed and relieved at the same time, at the large white furred canine whose golden eyes held just as much intelligence as any human. I blinked once, then twice as I watched the wolf, waiting for something to happen. The wolf didn't look like it was going to attack me from the calm manner in which it stood, simply watching me.

The wolf tossed its head suddenly and turned slightly so it was looking at me out of the corner of its eye before turning and moving into the grass with a swish of her tail. I stared after it a moment before heaving a sigh and following after the wolf into the grass. In real life this might've not been the smartest thing to do, but this was one of my dreams and I had some seriously weird dreams by some people's standards so this was normal.

I couldn't see the wolf moving through the grass, I was only catching glimpses of the wolf's fluffy white tail as it moved through the grass. I didn't know exactly why I was following a strange white wolf through waste high grass, but this was a dream so anything was possible. Then again, I'd never thought it was possible to have anime characters to appear in the real world and then go to their world and end up in the past.

I bet whoever came up with the quote 'anything can happen' wasn't kidding.

I wasn't really paying any attention to what was going on around me as I followed the wolf. So when I did happen to look around it was twilight now and the sun had just sunk below the mountains. I almost stopped and did a double take as I looked towards the still light horizon. Instead of flat plains there was now a mountain range in the distance and a fairly large one by the looks of it. Seeing that I took stock of the rest of my surroundings, the grass wasn't quite at thick as it had been before and a few bushes and a few smaller trees were appearing here and there and looking ahead I could see a pretty good woods appearing.

That was a relief even if this was a dream. I'd be happy not to be on open ground anymore.

I was still following the white wolf, but I was starting to get annoyed with it. Just where were we going? I sighed and stopped, planting a fist on my hip as I watched the wolf stop and turn back to me looking curious as it tilted its head and flicked its ears towards me. I frowned at the wolf as it tilted its head the other way and flicked its ears back and forth questioningly.

I sighed again and rubbed the side of my head. Usually in dreams when something like this happened I at least knew whoever or whatever I was following, but this white wolf was a new one. "Well," I began before asking the wolf, "Do you have a name?"

I expected for the wolf to have some sort of reaction, a tail wag, a flicker of its ears, a growl or snarl. I could even believe it _talking_ after all that had happened to me. I actually wish one of those had happened, instead the wolf simply vanished in a hiss of mist leaving me standing alone in the woods.

I stared at the spot where the wolf had been standing with annoyance. Where was someone or something I knew when I needed them!?

"**Not having fun?"** A familiar, amused sounding voice asked. I sighed and turned around to find Kabegami sitting on the underside of a tree branch looking down at me. The cat looked annoyingly smug as the tip of her tail flicked idly.

I frowned at the cat with another sigh as I tilted by head to the side and closed my eyes. Why couldn't I have a peaceful night's sleep? Why did all this weird stuff have to happen to me? I opened my eyes to glare at Kabegami as she sat there looking back at me with that same smug expression on her face.

"If I say 'yes,'" I began, my voice cautious, "Will you tell me what that was about?"

I really didn't think she would tell me anything. Kabegami was a cat after all and all the cats I had ever watched liked to play games. The played with their food before they killed it and I'd seen more than one cat purposely torment a dog. I'd watched a cat walk all the way around the pipe frame of a dog pen while the dog went nuts inside and the worst, or best part was that the cat would frequently look at the dog.

I had a feeling Kabegami wouldn't have anything against dancing around the subject instead of telling me what I wanted to know. Besides the cat part, her personality struck me as the sort that enjoyed teasing others.

"**Of course not,"** Kabegami answered as she stood up and stretched arching her back so her tail curled toward her back at the tip. It was weird to watch while she was upside down and I was very, very tempted to grab her tail and yank her off her perch.

"And here I thought you might actually be helpful," I told her sarcastically as I turned and walked away in the direction the wolf had been leading me. I didn't feel up to getting into a cat fight with Kabegami at the moment. I was actually starting to get annoyed with the little voices in my head that only gave me half of what I needed to know.

At least, that's what it felt like. I knew there was something Kabegami and Kasugami weren't telling me, I just didn't know what it was or how important it was.

A low, feline growl met my ears before I was very far away and I knew I'd successfully ticked off my feline friend. Though, the 'friend' part was still up to debate on my half. I wanted to know why that wolf had just up and vanished when I spoke. That part was plain weird and it didn't make any sense that I could figure. I didn't really care that I'd ticked off Kabegami either. If she didn't want to play nice, then I wasn't either and doubly so when she wasn't going to help.

"**Don't speak to me that way!"** Kabegami shouted after me followed by a soft thump and the sound of grass swishing as she moved through it. I didn't bother to reply or slow my pace as I kept moving, _she_ was the one following _me_ which meant she might just feel a little bit bad for being unhelpful and might apologize or offer something useful.

"**A little girl like you has no right to talk to someone like **_**me**_** like that!"** She continued as she jumped up onto the side of a tree I was passing by and hissed at me as she laid her ears against her skull and fluffed her fur up angrily. I ignored the angry kitty as I continued walking, if she was going to call me a 'little girl' than I wasn't about to listen to her.

"**Ali,"** A male's voice called to me with a sigh. I stopped and sighed myself before turning towards the fluffy white ram where he stood just a little to my right. I wasn't sure if I was happy to see him either, after all he had held back too. I would've figured out what I could do eventually, but it would've been nice if he'd told me what I could do in the first place I probably would have won the fight back at my house and not had to call the ninja in. Plus I still didn't know what had caused me to get thrown into the ninja world.

"Yes?" I asked not bothering to hide the annoyance in my tone. If he wanted to be annoyed with me I had every right to be annoyed with him.

"**Do not torment Kabegami like that," **He told me as he walked towards me and stopped a few feet away beside a tree. Kabegami appeared a moment later, attaching herself to the side of the tree. Her fur was still fluffed out and she was glaring at me so I knew she was still irritated with me. I couldn't say I cared too much though, she seemed to realize that and she gave a low feline growl again.

"Why?" I demanded rudely, "You two are doing the same thing to me. You're not telling me everything. How am I suppose to get home or save my friends if I don't know what I'm doing?"

Both of them were silent for several long moments as they stared at me. Too long. Long enough that I knew they weren't going to tell me anything helpful. I glared at them during that time before sneering angrily and turning to continue walking. I wasn't sure where I was going anymore and I didn't really care, I was just ready to wake up.

"**You are not ready yet,"** Kasugami finally said with resignation as he appeared, falling into step beside me. That was about as helpful as a sack of dirt in my opinion so I kept ignoring him as I walked. The silence that followed lasted until he sighed and stopped following me, **"Very well youngling, you still have our power at your disposal even if you are angry with us…"**

With that the world around me swirled with gray mist as I felt myself being gently shaken awake. Before I completely left my dream world though; I glimpsed the silhouette of a wolf and the flash of its golden eyes before I opened my eyes to the Naruto world. Minato was shaking my shoulder gently, though insistently, "Ali, we are preparing to leave."

I sucked in a deep breath of air and squeezed my eyes shut in protest to the little bit of light there was, but my eyes quickly adjusted as I sat up with a yawn and rubbed my eyes. I was still tired since my sleeping time had been less than restful and I was mad over the whole thing. I knew it was silly to be mad, but I couldn't really help it. Everything going on was almost too much for me to handle.

I simply grunted at him as I pushed myself up so I could sit cross legged while I watched them roll up their sleeping bags and pack to leave. I wondered vaguely what I was going to eat while they were gone, but I figured there would be something around here that I could make editable. Hunting something would be a breeze once I found something, then I could stop Time and simply walk up to it and kill it quickly so it didn't suffer.

No one spoke as they got things together until all four of them stood ready to leave. Minato turned so he was only half facing me as he looked at me out of the corner of his eye, "Stay safe."

I nodded, "You too."

It wasn't much, but it was as close to goodbye as we were going to get. He nodded in return and without another word the four of them vanished. I sighed and yawned before curling back up and going back to sleep.

Since I was asleep I never even sense the Stone ninja as they surrounded the tree I was sleeping under.

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**Yes, I really just left it like that... And I liked it. **

**I laughed insanely after I decided to leave it like that. }**


	33. Captured

**Well, here it is folks. I've actually had this done for about a week, but I decided to wait a bit before posting it.**

**So here it is. Enjoy. ^^**

**Words- 2,453**

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**CrossWorlds ~ Part One ~ The Beginning ~ Chapter Thirty-Three ~ Captured**

The Stone ninja stared down at the sleeping girl with a mix of emotions ranging from curiosity, anger, disgust, to glee. They were curious as to why she had been with a group of ninja only a scant few moments ago and hadn't gone with them. She didn't appear to be injured, so why hadn't she gone with them? Wasn't she part of their team? They were angry since she was an enemy by default from association and that disgusted them, but they were happy that they had apparently found an enemy to capture with ease.

"Move in," The leader of the band of the five man cell mumbled softly into his headset. The reaction was instantaneous as four of the five vanished to reappear around the sleeping girl, one on the side of the tree above her, two a short distance away on the ground, and the leader appeared right beside her in a crouch.

The girl didn't even stir or show any signs that she knew he was there. He frowned slightly, was this girl even a ninja at all? There were signs of bruising on her face and arms as if she'd recently been in a fight or been given a beating. She wasn't armed, there wasn't a kunai pouch or any sort of weapon on her person. That was extremely strange. Didn't she know there was a war going on?

Either way, she had been traveling with a group of Leaf ninja she was bound to have information if she didn't they could always dispose of her later. The leader knew she was asleep so taking her with them wouldn't be a problem, but he didn't want her putting up a struggle if she woke up. He silently pulled out a length of rope and bound her hands behind her back then tied her feet together before fishing out a spare bit of bandages and stuffing them into her mouth.

The three of his cell members that had come down with him moved in closer while the fifth man remained in the trees as a lookout. The leader stood up and stepped back before gesturing to the girl as he turned to the largest member of their party, "Meizu."

The man, obviously called Meizu nodded in reply before bending down and picking the girl up and slinging her over his shoulders like a sack of potatoes; her stomach rest on his shoulder as he held on around her knees with her upper body dangling over his shoulder.

I came awake with a start as the breath was knocked out of me and I found myself dangling over someone's shoulder. "Mmph?" I tried to question, but being as I was gagged I couldn't form coherent words and only succeeded in making a series of grunting protests. I wiggled as hard as I could for all I was worth.

Minato had said it was safe here! It wasn't light enough for them to have been gone for more than one hour! How had they missed these guys!? Or had he done this on purpose? I shook my head at that, Minato wasn't like that. If he had left me here, he had generally thought I would be safe.

I wiggled a little bit more before groaning in annoyance and defeat and letting myself go limp with a sigh. I didn't stay still for long but twisted around so I could glare at the nearest person who appeared to be the leader by the way the other Stone ninja were glancing at him. He looked smug as he met my glare with a grin.

I narrowed my eyes further at him for a moment before opening them back up and crossing by eyes at him while scrunching my nose up at him. It was childish I knew, but making faces at him was the only retaliation I could manage at the moment. Another idea came to me and I debated on whether to flip him the bird or not, but he could take that a bit literally and since I was a prisoner at the moment I didn't want to push my luck too much.

Crossing my eyes at him had the opposite effect though as he laughed at me then crouched down to my face level and pinched my cheek like I pictured a grandma doing to a grandchild, "Behave yourself now little girl and we won't rough you up too badly," He told me which I growled in response too since the words he didn't speak rang all to clearly in my mind, _'Before we kill you that is.'_

"Let's move," He told his cell members as he straightened, "We've got a lot of ground to cover," He finished leaving more unspoken than I could decipher. Just great, they probably thought I was an enemy ninja with information. They'd either put a genjutsu on me to get me to tell what I knew or they'd torture me to get information that I didn't have.

Well, I had information but it wasn't anything they would like to hear.

The sudden increase of pressure in my gut made me grunt and wince in pain and discomfort as my captor pushed off the ground and took to the trees. The ride really wasn't comfortable, I would go from weightlessness while he was in the air to a jarring blow to the stomach every time he landed on a tree branch and pushed back off again. The view sucked too since all I had to look at was his butt which wasn't even a nice looking butt. I'd think a ninja would at least have a nice butt to look at.

"_Well,"_ I thought at my inner voices if they were listening, _"If you have anything you _can_ tell me that would be _helpful_ now would be the time!"_ I told him with annoyance while cursing my senses or lack of. I should have had the ninja training me while they were at my house instead of goofing off like a pathetic little fangirl.

"_**If you weren't all tied up you could run away,"**_ Kabegami's playful voice purred in my mind, _**"I mean, you do get to use **_**my**_** powers here."**_

Wow, that was certainly helpful. I didn't bother with a reply, but instead turned my concentration to tightening my belly muscles before my captor landed on the next tree branch so it wouldn't hurt as bad then relaxing them when he was in the air between jumps. I knew I'd be sore after we stopped for any length of time which made me feel terribly out of shape.

I sighed through my nose as I looked down at the ground since that was at least a nicer view than my captor's butt. There wasn't much to see there either though, tree branches, giant mushrooms growing out of the trees, which was still extremely weird for me to see, and the green and brown blur of the ground.

I hated the fact that I was bored at a time like this, but there just wasn't really anything I could do at the moment but wait until they stopped somewhere. I ground the gag in my mouth with frustration; I should have just tried to convince Minato to take me with them on their mission. I think that would have been safer. I was angry at myself for worry about my safety so much too since I needed to be thinking about Audrey and April and what I could do to find them.

I didn't even know where they were! What kind of friend can't keep track of their friends!?

"_Oi! Kasugami!"_ I mentally shouted at the ram, tempted to go back to the nickname of 'sheepy' from when I'd first met him just to annoy him. I was still a bit mad at him after all, but I still expected him to help me out. It sounded selfish, even to me, but I knew that under the part of me that was mad at him I was still his friend and I'd help him out if he needed it, _"Is there anything _you_ can do?"_

"_**I am sorry youngling,"**_ Was the ram's reply in my head, he sounded resigned and a bit frustrated himself, _**"There is not anything my power could do for you right now."**_

That was that then, I'd just have to wait until we stopped and they put me down. If I stopped time now and managed to wiggle free I'd only fall to what would probably be my death. It was better to wait until they put me down safely on the ground. I may only be able to wiggle away then, but it would be better to try that than doing nothing.

I was quickly growing bored again since the scenery hadn't changed and I'd already given up on trying to keep my poor stomach from bruising worse each time my captor landed and pushed off while running. I was going to be sore from this whether I tried to cushion the landing or not.

"You're a quiet one," My captor told me sounding amused and even a little excited, "You'll be fun to break."

I could almost see the sadistic grin that I knew would be on his face. This wasn't looking good. I reasoned that by saying 'break' that they would be using torture to try to get information out of me rather than genjutsu. I wasn't sure which on was more frightening to me, physical pain or mental pain.

I narrowed my eyes angrily, but otherwise I tried not to give any sign that I heard what he said. I wasn't sure if that was the safest thing to do, but it was all I could really do at the moment. I doubted my struggling would be enough to make him drop me, and doubtless one of his companions would probably catch me, but I didn't want to take the chance. Being killed by the ground is up on my list of 'Ways Not to Die.'

I felt like a big wuss. I was just hanging over some random Stone ninja's shoulder going who knows where to have who knows what done to me. I could actually think of several rather nasty, painful things that could happen to me, but that really wasn't helping my situation. Plus I felt like I was starting to get motion sickness, I was queasy at least and I couldn't think of anything else that could be making me feel like that.

What I needed to focus on was an escape plan. The first part of 'Plan A' was established, when we stopped and they put me down I was going to stop time, find something sharp, cut the ropes on my hands and feet, kick all five of these guys in the balls, run a short distance away, let time go long enough to laugh at them while they clutched themselves, stop time again, and then run like there's no tomorrow; Which there wouldn't be until I decided to let time flow again.

If my hands were free I would have smacked myself in the forehead for that one. That was an extremely lame joke on my part. Now I needed a 'Plan B.'

I was drawing blanks. I didn't think there was any real way for 'Plan A' to fail. I wouldn't be able to beat these guys in a straight forward fight, but I didn't plan on even trying to fight them. I was going to run away. I didn't like the thought of doing that, but I'd rather be a live coward than a dead fool.

The problem after I escaped was going to be finding someplace I could go or someone I could go to. The problem with going somewhere was that I didn't even know where _here_ was, I was just going to have to pick a random direction and hoped I ran into someone or someplace that I could find help. What form that help took was my next big problem.

I was going to have to find someone that I knew wouldn't kill me before I finished talking to them. Minato would have been my first choice, but now I was separated from him and, if I was guessing, we were probably heading in the opposite direction he, Obito, Kakashi, and Rin had taken. So he was out and now I had to think of other people, ninja, who were already born who could actually help me.

Itachi would have been my next choice, but I knew he was younger than Kakashi and Kakashi was something like twelve at this point in time which would me Itachi would only be around seven. He was probably already a genius, I could remember reading about him somewhere and I was pretty sure he awakened his Sharingan at age five or something else insane like that.

I racked my brain as I tried to think of who else I could go find. Jiraiya or Tsunade either one would have been good if I had any idea where to find them. I would have even settled for Orochimaru if he hadn't defected from Konoha yet. He may be a slimy snake in the future, but he was a good guy at one time.

Wait, thinking of 'bad guys,' was how old was Kisame right now? I knew he'd been around thirty in the series when the Akatsuki had appeared. That would make him… Eighteen? He would still be a member of the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist and there was no way I wanted to go looking for him there. Zabuza would be there too and I knew he wasn't called 'The Demon of the Mist' for nothing. So both of them were out, they probably _wouldn't_ help me if I asked anyway.

That was it. There wasn't anyone in this whole world who could really help me, I was on my own. The thought almost made me angry, was everyone in this whole world _that_ useless? I mentally sighed and shut my eyes, that wasn't right, they just had their own lives and a war to deal with. I had to figure out my own problems.

My eyes shot open and widened, I _did_ know someone else in this time period! I knew he could help me, whether he wanted to or not… Well, that was another matter entirely…

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**Yep, I did it again.**

**Any guesses on who it is?**


	34. Passing Time

**This was very fun and entertaining to write. So much so that I sat down and wrote it all in two settings of about two hours each. It wouldn't have even taken that long if I hadn't been writing a review for another story and watching a movie at the same time... XD**

**So, here it is!! =D**

**Read it and be hawppy~!**

**Words- 2,343**

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**CrossWorlds ~ Part One ~ The Beginning ~ Chapter Thirty-Four ~ Passing Time**

I really didn't think he'd help me. I didn't even know where to _look_ for him. I didn't think Madara Uchiha really appeared until after Itachi died when he made himself known to Sasuke. So he was out too, which meant I was back to having exactly no one to help me.

I frowned to myself, beyond annoyed with how this was turning out. Not only did I not have anyone to turn to for help, but I was actually having to turn to someone for help. I didn't like the idea of having to depend on someone else in a situation like this, it was putting my life in someone else's hands and I _really_ didn't like the idea of my life being someone's gambling chip.

My captor chuckled then, making me seethe with further annoyance. Just _what_ was so funny that he could be _laughing_!?

"Is the little girl getting angry?" He asked in a falsely sweet voice that had me grinding my teeth and clenching my hands into fists. How dare he call me a little girl! If I'd been trained as a ninja from the time I was five or whatever age they start I could totally kick his butt!

I glared at what I could see of his lower back, butt, and thigh. When I got loose, stopped time, and got loose I was going to kick him in the nuts. Hard. A smile curled my lips then as another thought occurred to me. I was going to kick him _twice._ It was almost enough to make me giggle evilly, but the gag effectively stopped any sound I might've made. At least I wasn't angry anymore.

Well, I was still mad because of the situation I was in and because I was helpless and because I didn't have anyone to help me once I helped myself and managed to get away from these guys. Sure, I had Kabegami and Kasugami to help me whenever I wanted it but they couldn't really go out and find food, water, and shelter for me.

I also wanted a shower and clean clothes. I may have been a complete tomboy, but when I could smell my own stink that was taking it a little far. Smelling other people is bad, smelling _yourself_ is just plain gross. Of course I had been wearing the same clothes from something around two days since my fight with Brittany and her gang so I suppose it was expected that I smell bad… That didn't mean I liked it.

Just how far were we going anyway? We'd been traveling for most of the morning and it was nearly noon if the hunger pains gnawing at my stomach were any indication. They could be wrong though, I hadn't had any breakfast. When Minato had woke me up we'd simply said our goodbyes, they left, and I went back to sleep only to be rudely awoken by being slung over my captor's shoulder like a sake of potatoes.

Maybe when we stopped and I put my escape plan into action I'd ram him in the solar plexus, just below his ribcage for good measure so he'd know how it felt.

Now that I actually had my escape plan thought up and all planned out there really wasn't a whole lot for me to think about besides trying to ignore the rhythmic pain being inflicted on my poor stomach as my captor ran along. If I wasn't gagged this would be the point in the trip I would start repeatedly asking 'Are we there yet?' just to annoy them and pass the time.

Just how far were we going? Whenever Rin had gotten kidnapped in the manga it didn't seem like they'd taken her very far. At least it didn't seem like a great deal of time passed between when she was captured and when Obito tried to rescue her and had to be rescued by Kakashi.

Then they both went skipping off to save poor little Rin from the wicked stepmother.

I made a face for myself at _that_ lame line. Rin was far from helpless, she was a ninja. I, on the other hand, was completely out of place and helpless in this world of ninja, in the middle of a war no less.

And I was back to feeling sorry for myself again which would solve even less of my problems. If the only surface near my head hadn't been my captor's butt I would have banged my head on something in frustration. Instead I closed my eyes and mentally groaned; this _wasn't_ helping.

Yet there wasn't anything _to_ help right now, all I could do was sit her like a sack of potatoes and wait until the stupid ninja decided to stop.

Hopefully that would be sooner rather than later though, I was really hungry. As if to echo my thoughts my stomach gave a grumble that even _I_ could hear which meant my captor definitely could since my stomach was by his ear. I was mildly embarrassed, but I quickly shoved that aside since it wasn't really my fault I was hungry.

My captor laughed, then stopped on the next branch hard enough to make me grunt as he jarred me again. I glared angrily as I was pulled forward over his shoulder and held up with his hands under my arm pits as he looked at me, smirking. I felt like a little kid from the way I was being held and chose to show my _joy_ at being man handled like this my lowering my eyelids further so not only was I glaring angrily at him, but my expression showed extreme annoyance as well.

It must have struck him as funny since he only chucked as his four team mates appeared around us, "What's the holdup?" One asked, "Why are we stopping?"

"The princess's stomach is growling like an angry bear," He told them while I silently fumed at being called _'princess'_ which was worse than being called 'little girl' as he continued, "We should rest for a bit and eat ourselves. Plus I'm tired of carrying her, someone else can take a turn."

The sounded dangerously like he was calling me fat and while I was no light weight I wasn't exactly fat either. I'm a little cubby, I admit that, usually I laugh when someone has the guts to point that out to my face then tell them I'm just fluffy. Still, it hurt worse coming from a stranger. Why, I wasn't sure, it should have mattered even less to me since I didn't know the guy. Maybe it was because I also had the embarrassment of being captured by him as well.

"Not yet, we need to get further away from where we captured her before we stop," The one I thought was the leader told my captor as he shook his head, "That was Konoha's Yellow Flash with her. We can't risk _him_ coming after us to save her."

Obviously, thankfully, these guys hadn't heard the conversation between Minato and me. Otherwise they would've know that no one was coming to save me.

My captor snorted and rolled his eye as he hefted me with one arm and tossed me back over his shoulder. I grunted at the sudden impact of his shoulder being jabbed into my already sore stomach. I turned my head to glare at one of his teammates that I could see, doing my best to look utterly annoyed with the lot of them. It must have been a pretty pathetic attempt on my part since his lips twitched as if he was fighting a smile before he gave in and smirked as he looked away.

_Jerk…_

"What's so frightening about _one guy_?" My captor wanted to know, making me smirk to myself as I dropped my head and glared at his feet and the tree bark underneath them. I was trying to pay attention to what they were saying in case they gave me some sort of useful information that would tell me where I was.

The leader sighed, obviously as annoyed with my captor as I was, "No one who has gone up against him has come back," The leader told him seriously in a grim tone making me smirk. Of course no one came back, it wouldn't surprise me if the reason Konoha won the war was due to The Yellow Flash's power. The leader continued then, "We received intelligence a while back that he took out ten squads in an instant with the aid of a pair of wounded comrades."

Grim, heavy silence followed and I almost felt sorry for the Stone ninja and who they had to go up against. Almost, since they had captured me and were taking me somewhere to be tortured for information that I _didn't_ have whatever pity I had for them flew straight out the window.

"Still just one guy…" My captor muttered and I rolled my eyes. My captor was obviously a stupid, arrogant person and, if I was guessing, probably highly disliked among his peers if he was talking back to his commanding officer as he was.

"_Still,"_ The leader continued, sounding more than just a little annoyed with my captor, "We keep moving," He ordered and I felt my captor vibrate slightly with a silent growl as the leader continued again, "And Yui can carry her now."

My captor grunted before hefting me by my upper arm, making me feel even more like a sack of potatoes. I barely had time to utter a strangled squeak before my captor tossed me to 'Yui' with a grumbled, "Here."

I grunted as I was caught bridal style as it hurt my shoulders and arms from being bound behind my back. My previous captor had taken off to go ahead, but my new one, Yui, hadn't moved yet. I glared up at him with annoyance, wondering if _he_ was going to treat me like a sack of potatoes too. He blinked back at me with a pair of blue-green eyes before smiling lightly, "Sorry about him," He apologized, making me arch one eyebrow, "He's not a very pleasant person."

Really now, I would have _never_ guessed something like _that._ Yui was just as arrogant as my previous captor, just in a different manner. I rolled my eyes at him before I went back to glaring at him with an 'You're stupid and I hate you' look, that he must have found amusing since he just smiled and gave a half laugh before leaping after my previous captor with the rest of the team in formation around him.

I _was_ surprised he kept carrying me bridal style and that was a welcome relief to my poor, bruised and abused stomach though now my shoulders were starting to hurt from the pressure there. I knew I was just looking for something to complain about, but I figured I kind of had the right to do a little complaining considering the situation I was currently in.

At least the view was better. I could see the trees around us rather than the ground and my previous captor's unattractive rump. Yui was a classic pretty bone with delicate features that were still masculine at the same time with his blue-green eyes and mop of soft looking black hair. I wasn't about to let him know I thought he was pretty so I kept up my 'You're stupid and I hate you' glare as he jumped through the trees.

"Stop that," He finally said after about ten minutes, though he wasn't looking at me I knew he was talking to me as he continued, "I feel like you're going to burn a hole through me with that glare."

I rolled my eyes again, a habit I'd worked long to break was resurfacing with stress. It turned out Yui was a flirtatious, arrogant pretty boy. Oh _joy,_ just what I wanted to deal with right now!

I didn't listen to him of course, I just sat there and kept glaring. From the smirk twisting his lips he knew that and that fact amused him greatly. My stomach growled again, more demandingly and louder than before, causing his lips to twitch more as I felt his chest vibrate with silent laughter. I grumbled to myself as I sighed with annoyance through my nose since my mouth was gagged.

When I stopped time I was going to hog-tie these guys after I kicked them in the nuts. I was also going to pull their underwear as far up as I could to give them wedgies and use their forehead protectors to blind fold them. That would teach them. I smirked evilly to myself as best I could with the gag in my mouth as I watched the trees fly by.

I wondered what they would feed me when we stopped or even _if_ they would feed me. If they didn't I'd just steal one of their packs and take all of their food instead. Then _they_ could go hunger for a while and see how it felt. I narrowed my eyes in mirth with what I was going to do to my captors when we stopped.

"Stop trying to scheme to escape," Yui told me without emotion. He was _really_ getting on my nerves with trying to give me orders, "It won't work," He continued, "You're all alone."

I blinked at him, recognizing him trying to psych me out. Little did he know that as long as I had Kasugami and Kabegami on my side I was never alone. I narrowed my eyes at him again and did my best to smirk around my gag. Shows what he knew…

Or rather, what he _didn't_ know…

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**Those Stone ninja should be afraid...**

**That wasn't too cliffy-ish was it?**

**...Okay, maybe it was... Does it help that I didn't plan it that way? XD**

**(Pst, my birthday is the 13th...)**


	35. Scheming and Arguments

**Woop, I forgot to put Author's Notes before I posted this so of course I had to take it off and re-do it... XD**

**Aren't you all proud of me? I'm keeping up with weekly posts!! =D And even better is that I already have the next chapter nearly done, but I'm not letting you have it until next week... ^^**

**I would also like to say another great big THANK YOU to all of my reviewers for supporting CrossWorlds and myself. 705 reviews and counting!!! THANK YOU!!!**

**Words- 2,671**

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**CrossWorlds ~ Part One ~ The Beginning ~ Chapter Thirty-Five ~ Scheming and Arguments**

I gave in to the urge to smirk at Yui, a particularly evil smirk. My mouth didn't move very well around the gag but it was enough to make my eyes narrow on the bottom and on the top as I pulled my eyebrows down as well. If I hadn't been gagged this would have been my wolfish, evil smirk as my friends referred to it.

I couldn't do anything _now_ of course, but these guys had to stop sometime and I was letting Yui know just how bad it was going to get for him when I got free. I had my plans so far, but more would always be good. They hadn't hurt me yet, not really, nothing lasting anyway. The ache in my stomach from the first of my captors carrying me and now the one burning across my shoulders from Yui carrying me would only last a couple days at the most. Whatever I did to them would only last that long.

It was only fair. They hadn't really roughed me up too bad so I wouldn't be _too_ mean to them… Okay, maybe I would be, but it wouldn't be anything that lasted _too_ long.

Even that part depended on how Yui treated me between here and where we stopped for lunch. I could only hope that would be soon as my stomach gave another rumble and my head began throbbing with the beginnings of a hunger headache. I was being a wimp I knew by complaining just because I was hungry. There was also a war going on, there were probably people starving to death and here I was complaining to myself just because I had missed a meal.

"_**Then stop whining where I can hear you,"**_ Kabegami's voice snapped irritably at the back of my head.

I almost groaned aloud with annoyance. Out of all of the people in the world why did it have to be me who had voices in my head? Well, I probably wasn't the only one who had voices in their heads, but mine were probably the only ones with superpowers. Though I didn't see what was so special about Kabegami's power… I could have probably learned chakra control on my own…

"_**I can still hear you! And my power is over surfaces you stupid girl! Chakra control was just a side bonus for you because you're human!"**_ Her voice yowled at me, reminding me of a cat whining at the door to be let in.

I could feel my eyebrow twitching with annoyance. Really, what was it with people calling me 'girl?' _"Well, _cat," I began, putting emphasis on the 'cat,' _"If you stopped listening inside my head you wouldn't hear me now would you? Whose fault is _that?"

I could've probably dealt with the ninjas at once, not in a fight but the whole being kidnapped and being taken to be tortured thing. I could've dealt with listening to an annoying, snobby cat yelling at me in my head. I could _not_ deal with _both_ of them at the _same time._

"Aw," My first captor's voice drifted back to my ears, "Does the princess not like our pretty boy Yui?"

"It's better than looking at your butt!!" I tried to yell around my gag, but that didn't work out too well and it came out as, "Imfs effer hen ookin af ouf uff!!"

This only served to amuse him further as he laughed out loud. I grumbled to myself, I really hoped someone stabbed him… I smirked around my gag then. Actually, I _didn't_ want anyone to stab him. _I_ wanted to stab him. I laughed behind my gag and it came out almost as evil sounding as it would've if I hadn't been gagged, it was just more muffled.

"Heh," Yui said softly in amusement as a reply as he closed his eye momentarily before looking back at me, amusement still in his eyes, "You really need to stop scheming. It won't work."

I rolled my eyes at him. Apparently his looks were just that; Looks, without any brain to back them up. He _had_ just repeated himself after all. I snorted for added effect, making him look at me again and I gave him another eye roll accompanied by a toss of my head that said 'Yeah, shows what _you_ know.' Yui obviously found that amusing too as he gave another 'heh' of laughter and a smile.

"_**Despite your dislike of the situation you are actually enjoying yourself are you not?"**_ Kasugami asked, sounding amused and slightly curious at the same time.

I made a slight laughing sound myself, causing Yui to look at me again but I missed it as I smirked at the green blur of the trees, _"Of course I'm having some fun,"_ I told Kasugami, _"I'm scheming. Scheming is always fun."_

His laugh, that sounded fairly close to a sheep's baaing, filled my mind momentarily filled my head and the sheer sound of it made me smile as best I could around the gag and my shoulders shake with repressed laughter. Yui looked down at me again, arching one eyebrow in question but I only smirked evilly in reply. He shook his head, "Don't make this any harder on yourself."

I drew my eyebrows together then arched one and blew out air through my nose and making a laughing sound as best I could. The way he said it made it sound like that we were midway through an interrogation with me being particularly difficult and stubborn and he was trying to convince me to give it. Yui was the type of guy who would've been in the school clique, but he would only be in because of his looks not his brains.

"I say let her keep at it," My first captor called back, making me narrow my eyes as I shifted them to look at him without turning my head. He was grinning leeringly at me that left little doubt in my mind what he intended to do as he continued, "It'll be more fun for us that way."

_Perverted jerk._

There were actually two meaning that I could derive from his words. The first one simply meant that he enjoyed torturing people and took great pleasure it making it as painful and long lasting as possible. The second was a threat to rape me if I didn't cooperate and I had no desire to lose my virginity to someone like him. Neither possibility was an appealing one to me, and was I going to make sure neither of them happened.

I sighed through my nose with annoyance, were we _ever_ going to stop? Not only was I _still_ hungry but my headache had turned into an annoying buzz at the back of my head, at least my voices had stopped talking for me the moment. That was a plus at least.

"Shou," The leader said warningly with a sigh in his voice to my previous captor, at least I knew his name and that would make yelling insults easier when I was escaping, "Stop baiting her, we want her to cooperate," The leader may have said that, but it was obvious from his tone that he didn't believe that would happen.

I didn't believe it either. If I has been one hundred percent sure that they wouldn't kill me I would have made my current purpose in life to make their lives miserable and pull every sneaky, nasty trick I knew. My stomach rumbled again and I decided that, if I could get any, I was going to put laxatives in their food.

The thought made me make a soft giggle-snort sound as the corners of my eyes kicked up in a laugh. During one of the girl wars I had been dragged into way back when in grade school I got irritated with my class over the whole thing. My birthday had been drawing close and to celebrate I took my class cookies, with laxatives in them.

Needless to say no one was at school the next day, including me. I stayed home just for fun so they wouldn't suspect me. Since _I_ had been gone as well no one suspected that it was my fault that everyone got sick. The girl war was forgotten about as they moved on, to more interesting gossip and now they had something new to complain about when their own birthdays rolled around. The school changed the policy so only packaged snacks were allowed to be brought to school. I found the whole thing hilarious.

I made the giggle-snort sound again at the thought of a bunch of _ninja_ eating cookies with laxatives in them. Yui looked down at me with a mix of puzzlement and amusement on his handsome face as he arched one eyebrow, "What are you thinking?"

I quirked one eyebrow at him in return, how did he expect me to answer when I was gagged? I mentally shrugged and tried anyway, "How funny it would be to see you guys on laxatives," instead it came out more along the lines of "Ow hun-ni if woof 'e 'o ee 'ou fuys uhf axafises," Which sounded funny to my ears so it wasn't really surprising, or even very offensive, when Yui laughed at me.

Okay, maybe he _did_ have a mind, but he was obviously hiding it. If he could see through my play at humor, a very lame attempt at that, then he might be _all_ bad. If we'd been on the same side I might have even liked him and considered him a friend.

"Ha!" Shou's annoying voice drifted back, grating on my nerves so any bit of good mood that I had been developing vanished and I went back to glaring at Yui as he continued, "Not to bright is she?" He mocked me, "I don't think she's going to be very helpful captain Takacha if she's not smart enough to figure out that there's a gag in her mouth and she can't talk!"

Shou continued to laugh at me and I felt my eyebrow twitch with irritation. I was going to stab him. I was going to stab him several times. I grumbled in my chest and almost Yui's sigh of annoyance as he opened his mouth to reply I wacked his arm with my head, getting his attention. He looked down at me and I shook my head then rubbed the strap of cloth on my cheek that connected to the gag in my mouth against his arm. _I_ wanted to reply to him.

Yui seemed to realize that and blinked in surprise, making me smirk wickedly at him and offer a wink. It wasn't a flirtatious wink, but more of a 'let me handle this and I'll show you how it's done' type wink. I was going to put Shou in his place. Yui's lips twitched in amusement but he stopped on the next branch he landed on, causing his comrades to stop as well.

"Yui?" The captain, Takacha, asked his tone a mix of interest and wariness with a hint of annoyance, but the last wasn't directed at Yui, but Shou.

"_She_ would like to reply Captain," Yui answered, his tone neutral but I could pick up a hint of curiosity as well.

The captain was silent for a long moment and I turned to look at him with both eyebrows raised in question. He was regarding with an expression that was interested in what I had to say, but there was conflict there as well, though from what I didn't know. He opened his mouth to reply when Shou interrupted him with a laugh, "So the princess is warming up to us, eh?"

I rolled my eyes and snorted at him, showing just what I thought of what he said. I wasn't warming up to _him_ in the slightest and I intended to give him a piece of my mind if Takacha let Yui take the gag out of my mouth. Maybe they'd drop down to the ground to eat while we were stopped and give me a chance to escape.

"Yui," Takacha spoke and I felt Yui shift slightly towards his caption to let him know he was listening, "You may remove her gag."

"Yes sir," Yui replied then shifted me so I was sitting on one of his thighs with his right arm gripping my left one across my chest while he worked at the gag's knot with his left hand. I sat patiently while he worked at the knot and it took less time for him to undo it that it would have taken me to do it with one hand. He dropped the ends the leaned me back against his left arm and took the gag out with his right hand.

I coughed when it was out, then ran my tongue repeatedly and quickly over the roof of my mouth, trying to get rid of the cloth taste while trying to call moisture back into my mouth. When I thought I could speak clearing I turned to look at Shou with irritation, "You call me unintelligent? Pft," I scoffed at him, "_You_ are the one who obviously does not know what a chain of command is if you can't even listen to your own captain," Shou stared at me in mild shock as I narrowed my eyes at him further, "And how anyone could possibly 'warm up' to a arrogant jerk like yourself I couldn't possibly imagine. I'd bet you've never even managed to keep a girlfriend for more than a week. They probably all get tired of your attitude and bored with your lack of intelligence," I smirked then as I took my insults one step further, "Although, that's probably not the only think you're lacking…"

It was a dirty, low blow and I knew it, but if there's one way to insult a guy that never, _ever_ fails it's to tell them they're bad at sex or that they have small wieners. It gets them ever time.

There was a bit of a stunned silence at my words, the 'I can't believe you just said that!' kind of silence, but I was used to those kind of silences. I shocked people fairly often, it was fun. I could feel Yui's chest vibrating against my right arm as he tried not to laugh into the silence. He didn't have to keep it up for long since his captain started laughing, making Shou turn red and sputter.

I smirked smugly to myself as I met Shou's angry eyes, not bothering to hide my contempt for him or the bit of gloating pleasure I had. It felt good to throw his insults back in his face and from Shou's expression he knew _exactly_ what I was thinking.

That also seemed to be the breaking point for Shou as without even making a sound he launched forward…

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**And another lovely cliffhanger!! =D**


	36. Interrogation

**Here we are with my weekly story update. I am changing my policy though, instead of trying to update just CrossWorlds every week I'm going to try to start updating any one of my stories once a week.**

**Don't freak out. This is a good thing, it means if I get writer's block on one story that there's a chance that I won't have writer's block on all my storys. Savvey? =]**

**So have fun and enjoy kids. =P**

**Words- 2,521**

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****CrossWorlds ~ Part One ~ The Beginning ~ Chapter Thirty-Six ~ Interrogation**

I knew I had been out for a while when I finally came swimming back to conscious. The last thing I could remember was a fist hurtling towards my face… That Shou guy could hit _hard_. Well, that only proved that he didn't have a mind or a social life so he made up for it by training his body. That brought me a little comfort, but it didn't ease the constant throbbing pain on the left side of my face in my temple that made me wonder how I'd been able to sleep at all after being knocked unconscious.

I squeezed my eyes more tightly shut, but that only served to hurt worse so I simply let my face relax again. I was going to have one colorful black eye from the way it felt. I sighed mentally; I was getting a new black eye when the old one had probably only just vanished. Lovely, perhaps I was cursed to constantly walk around with a bruised face.

I blamed the Akatsuki and the rest of the gang from Naruto. I never got hurt half as often before they dropped onto my back porch, or rather, my woods would be more accurate. Maybe whenever I met them all again I'd give them a good slap in the face, even if I had to stop Time to do it, and tell them just _what_ they'd caused me to go through.

Their reactions would be entertaining, although my brain was just a bit too muddled for me to properly picture all of them. Actually, I probably wouldn't slap Itachi or Kisame. They had been helping me out after all and I was pretty sure they were my friends. Maybe I wouldn't slap Tobi/Madara either… He'd probably send Pein to kill me in my sleep, or maybe Hidan. I didn't think Hidan liked me very well…

My mind came back down from orbit then and I realized that I wasn't being carried, but I was laying on the ground with a rock lodged uncomfortably just below my ribcage on my right side and another one was in the back of left thigh. I hadn't been here for them to start hurting really, but the area around them was tingling.

Groaning aloud I levered myself up slightly with my right elbow and reached under my side with the same hand, clenching my eyes shut as my head screamed in protest at the movement. I groped around the ground for a moment before I found the rock and curled my fingers around it before pulling it out and dropping it on the ground with a soft thud. Lifting my left knee slightly I repeated the process of finding the rock then dropped it on the ground beside me before relaxing against the ground.

"Finally awake then?" A familiar voice asked kindly from above me.

I cracked my left eye open since my right one didn't want to cooperate to find Yui looking back at me. I twitched my right eyebrow at him and grunted in affirmation before closing my eye again. I may have _been_ awake but that didn't mean I _wanted_ to be awake. If given the choice I would have much rather have still be asleep.

"Heh," Yui answered with amusement and I felt the slight thud of him sitting down beside me on the ground, "There's food…"

My stomach rumbled in answer to that, but at the same time I felt a little queasy. I was hungry, but I knew if I ate too much I would be sick after not eating for so long and from the pain in my head. It made me feel weak, but I knew it was normal for some people.

I groaned again then began pushing myself up into a sitting position while pulling my feet towards me so I was sitting cross-legged on the ground. I kept my eyes shut while I moved, but my head could feel the sudden movement and change in position and it protested by pulsing with pain. This was nothing compared to passing through the vortex thing that had brought me here, but then I'd had my whole body to focus on rather than just one spot.

I waited a moment for the pain to subside before opening my left eye, since my right one _wouldn't_ open, to look at a grim looking Yui. I sat there with a 'I hate you right now' look on my face and waiting for him to say something. When he wasn't forthcoming I changed it to my 'You're stupid and I hate you' look, which really wasn't all that different except that I looked more annoyed with the latter than the former.

I stuck my hand out then, "Food."

I didn't care what it was at this point. I'd probably eat fried crickets if that's all there was, but these were ninja so I suspected they had fresh meat. Instead Yui smiled apologetically, "I said there was food, not that you could have any…"

"Without paying for it that is," Takacha finished as he appeared and sat down beside Yui. The years spent as a ninja had not been kind to Takacha, he bore scars on his face in crossing patterns that reminded me of Ibiki except Takacha had light blue eyes and unevenly cut medium brown hair.

I wasn't in a good mood. I was in pain. I was hungry. I did _not_ feel like being nice.

I twitched an eyebrow at him and rested my left elbow on my knee before plopping my chin in my hand to glare at Takacha with my good eye, "One of your men," I began slowly while letting my anger darken and lower my tone, "Punched me in the head hard enough to knock me out. I think you owe me at _least_ one meal before you even begin to think about questioning me."

Takacha narrowed his eyes at me as he crossed his arms, "You're not in any position to negotiate girl."

I felt my left eyebrow twitch with annoyance, "My name is not 'girl,'" I told him icily, "If you want to address me perhaps you should ask my name and _use it_ if you'd like to speak to me."

The captain smirked then and shook his head, looking away from me briefly but his expression read 'amused' when he looked back at me, "Very well, what is your name?"

"Ali," I told him, "And yours?" I already knew his just because I'd been paying attention and I heard someone else say it, but if he was going to pretend to be polite to me I could pretend to be polite to him.

"Takacha," He answered, looking even more amused which only served to further irritate me. I was going to stuff rocks into their kunai pouches and take their weapons when I left. It would serve them right, but not before I got food in my belly. I simply nodded without saying anything and waited for him to continue.

He seemed content to not say anything either so I settled for studying the tree bark behind him. At least we hadn't reached on of their hide outs or camps where there would be a lot of ninja around for me have to contend with. It looked like we were still out in the forest which wasn't a great deal better. I still didn't know where I was.

I was starting to make pictures in the bark, most of them ferocious, monstrous creatures that were set on eating Takacha and Yui's heads when Takacha spoke, "We want information and you, as an ally to the ninja of the Village Hidden in the Leave, will give it to us."

I recognized the order in his voice and it made the beast growl at the back of my mind. It took another moment for his words to sink in. Was I an ally of the Leaf Village? I supposed I was since Minato, Kakashi, Obito, and Rin had saved me, but I also knew some of the things the Leaf Village had done… Or will do.

I didn't agree with some of the things they had done, primarily Danzou and the other elders. I scratched my head as I thought about it then shook my head at him, "I'm not their ally."

I was an ally to some of the people in it, but I wasn't an ally to the village itself.

"Don't lie to us," Yui told me with a smile that was most definitely fake while closing his eyes in a manner that reminded me a great deal of Sai and I briefly entertained the possibility that they might be related. They did look a little bit alike now that I took the time to actually examine Yui's face. He seemed to sense the fact and narrowed his eyes at me in suspicion, "What are you thinking?"

I shrugged at him, "I wasn't lying," I told him first off, as ninja they should be able to tell something like that, "And you look a lot like someone else I know, but I think he's younger than you are." I answered his question truthfully.

Yui looked about twenty-five or somewhere around there and I thought Sai was sixteen or something like that. Maybe Yui was Sai's dad that he never knew. It was possible. From what I remembered Danzou had 'found' Sai and taken him into Root so it was entirely possible Danzou had found the orphaned Sai and taken him in. Although that theory didn't feel right I still considered it a possibility.

"It does seem like you're only telling us half the truth though girl," One of the other team members stated coldly. I felt the monster twitch ever so slightly in annoyance, but none of them seemed to notice. I just only hoped that it didn't start talking to me again like it had when I first met Minato, Kakashi, Obito, and Rin. They had definitely felt _something_ then and from their reactions I was betting it wasn't good. They had reacted better than I could have hoped, but I was also willing to bet that these guys would kill me.

I scratched my jaw as I thought about it. There was another surprising thing, they had untied me and left my hands and feet free. I sighed through my nose in annoyance, "I'm friends with some of the people in there all right?" I told whoever it was with annoyance, "Yet there are a few of them I would happily push off a cliff," _While they were tied up with sharp, pointy rocks at the bottom of the cliff._

My stomach growled again making me focus more acutely on it and also the headache that was pounding away in my temples along with the annoying buzzing sound at the back of my head. I was starting to get grumpy with the Stone ninja and, from Takacha's annoyed glare he was shooting at me, they were just as grumpy with me.

"Who are you friends with?" Takacha asked in a low voice. It made me blink and focus on him. Takacha wasn't just annoyed with me, he was pissed _off_ and the worst part was that I wasn't entirely sure _why_.

"Minato, Obito, Rin, and Kakashi," I answered, blinking at him as if it was the most obvious thing in the world, "The guys I was with earlier," I guess I could considered the Sannin, if they were the Sannin at this point in time, my friends, but I wasn't entirely sure if they'd know who I was if they saw me. I doubted it though, after all, they were younger now than when we'd met in my world.

"That sounded like another half-truth girl," The same ninja from before told me. I frowned at him, well, his mask. He wore a mask on the lower half of his face that reminded me of Kakashi's and he wore dark glasses so I couldn't see any of his face. His ninja headband was on the traditional place on his forehead, though it was partly covered by his hair.

I stared at him quizzily as I drew my eyebrows together and frowned, "How're you _doing_ that?"

I really was curious, I know I'm a good liar when I want to be. I'm good enough that not even my best friends could tell when I was _really_ lying to them. I may fake lying sometimes where I give myself up, but the couple times when I'd lied to protect them from something, be it a rumor or people, they'd never even noticed. I've never figured out whether that particular skill is a good thing or not.

"What aren't you telling us?" He asked, deliberately ignoring my question.

I frowned at him with annoyance and rolled my eyes before I answer, "I've met the Sannin before," I told him irritably and felt them stiffen slightly, I guess they were the Sannin by now, "But it was brief enough that they probably wouldn't remember me."

_That_ was the absolute truth and I knew they would be able to tell that. Takacha had opened his mouth to ask me a question when my stomach growled again, possibly the loudest it had yet, making him pause and shut his mouth to cover up the slight twitch of his lips that I detected. He was obviously trying not to laugh at me. I glared at him, telling him with my expression that my stomach was _his_ fault.

He coughed and motioned to Yui who produced a packet of food from somewhere behind him, I presumed his pack. He handed it to me, obviously trying to make an effort not to laugh at me as well. I took it from him without even a 'thank you' and examined it a moment before I began unwrapping the trail rations and started eating slowly.

"What do you know about the Leaf Village?" Takacha asked me as I was bringing more food, I wasn't sure what it was. It looked like a mix between beef jerky and mashed potatoes, though luckily it was mostly tasteless and what there was wasn't horrible. It was filling though, so I didn't much care.

"I haven't been there before," I told him with a shrug as I stuck more food into my mouth. That was another truth and from the flicker of annoyance across Takacha's face, he knew it too.

"How have you not been to the Leaf Village yet have met the Sannin?" He asked next with suspicion. I could have smacked myself, I walked into that one like a lamb to slaughter. A moment later I had my escape and I took it.

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**Yep, I did it again. I know you all just love me so much right now. =]**

**Kitt thought that was a lovely cliffhanger as well, she didn't even want to read what I had written on the next chapter. XD**


	37. The Great Escape

**I apologize profoundly for not updating in so long. School kept me very busy and afterwards I have been working. I'm now out of school so hopefully I'll get back to work, eh?**

**This first half of this was written almost directly after the last chapter and the second half was written when I had time to write it. So if they sound a bit different in parts that's why.**

**Thank you to everyone who has stuck with me and not lost faith in me!**

**Words- 2, 486**

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**CrossWorlds ~ Part One ~ The Beginning ~ Chapter Thirty-Seven ~ The Great Escape**

"They came to my house," I told them, another simply answer, but it was to the point and it was true. I was only glad I'd managed to think of it while I had the blazing headache that I did and that what little of my brain that was working was focused almost solely on filly my belly with food.

"Which is where?" Takacha asked next, sounding even more annoyed, "And I thought you said it was brief. If they were at your house I think it would leave a bit of an impression…" Well crap, I'd just waltzed into another verbal trap.

Still, his first question made me wilt sadly. I didn't know how far away home was. I didn't even know how to get back home. I stared mutely at the ground in front of me for several long moments, "Far away…" I told him softly, letting my sorrow at that color my voice, "It was brief. I only saw them a few times."

"Which direction is your home?" Yui asked, almost gently. He was probably trying to comfort me in his own way so that I would be a bit more forthcoming.

"I don't know," I told him as I shook my head, "Minato and his team found me when I woke up."

It felt weird to refer to Minato so familiarly. It was different to talk _about_ him with friends, because, back then, he'd still only been a character in a manga. He hadn't been _real_.

"How did you get here?" Takacha asked lowly, but he sounded more resigned now. I suppose he understood that I really wasn't helpful, but it was in a 'she's not a ninja, just some poor lost girl' rather than the 'she's an unhelpful enemy ninja and we're going to kill her to keep her quiet' way.

"I don't know that one either," I answered as I tightened my grip on the little box-thing Yui had given me with food in it. I'd eat well over half of it and only the semi rapid questioning was keeping me from devouring the whole thing. I continued to glare at the ground, but it was about time to stop Time, steal their stuff, and get out of here.

Which reminded me, I didn't know where _here_ was, "Where _is_ 'here'?"

It was an innocent enough question and they obviously felt that since I could practically see them stiffen with surprise. Though from the way Takacha's eyes sharpened I wondered if it was something else entirely. As he met my eyes that faded, he could probably read the exhaustion there along with my turbulent emotions.

I'll admit it, I was scared. Not in the 'Oh my gosh! What do I do!' type way, but in the slow, brooding sort of way of 'I don't know what to do.' It wasn't the kind of fear that was going to freeze me in my tracks, but more like a constant, nagging worry that would keep me awake at night and gnaw at me while I was awake.

It was certainly at work now, chewing away at me as I worried about my friends, where they were, if they were okay, how I would find them, and how we'd get back home. As selfish as it was I was also worried about myself, where was I? It was apparent that the Stone ninja weren't going to tell me anything at the risk that I would get away and tell their enemies. Even if they deemed that I wasn't a threat to them, they still couldn't let me go, but I didn't think they'd let me live either.

Lastly, I was worried about Brittany and her Pack. While I didn't really care about any of them and I'd happily push most of them off a cliff without remorse, I couldn't just leave them behind. If I was having trouble, they wouldn't stand a chance.

I rubbed my forehead as pain stabbed behind my eyes as a sudden headache set in and the low buzzing at the back of my head returned. If I kept all this worrying up I would make myself sick and that would be bad considering the food I had just eaten. Thinking about food only made me hungrier so I went back to eating what was left in my box Yui had given me.

"We are in Earth Country," Takacha answered slowly, his tone indicating that it should be obvious.

I couldn't help but mentally groan. We had traveled that far? In under a day? How was I going to get back to Fire Country now?

I glared at Takacha, letting him know that I was highly annoyed with him. His lips twitched slightly in what I thought might be a smirk, but I wasn't sure. Stupid ninja and their expressionless masks… It made them terribly hard to read and I was usually good at reading people.

I needed to get back to Fire Country and find Minato. I was almost positive that he would help me if I could find him and explain things to him. At least, I hoped he'd believe me… I wasn't sure if he would believe me if I told him I was from another time and dimension and his world was a book and TV show in my world and I knew what was going to happen in his world.

I don't know if I'd believe someone if they told me that.

My biggest problem right now was that anyone that I already knew from when they'd been in my house wouldn't remember me because they weren't old enough to remember me. I frowned and hunched my shoulders miserably. This was one great big can of worms.

"Well, I need to be back…" I paused, had that been Fire Country? "Where ever it was that you found me," I told Takacha is the same tone he'd used on me, as if that were the most obvious thing in the world.

Takacha frowned back at me in annoyance, though I could see a glint of amusement in his eyes and the corner of him mouth twitched in an almost smile. Yui chuckled beside me and I cocked my head sharply to the side to glare up at him. I still had the feeling I would've liked him if we'd met under different circumstances, but right now he was an enemy and I would treat him as such.

"What're you laughing at jerkface?" I snapped at him, "I'd like to see how well you'd do if you weren't a ninja and were lost in a strange place's wilderness," I continued crossly watching with satisfaction as his face lost its smile and he looked just a bit taken aback by my sudden outburst. I was surprised at myself to, but I'd had just about enough of dealing with ninja jerks.

"'Jerkface?'" Shou asked, with obvious amusement and a chuckle. I was looking at Yui and he also chuckled softly, "Is that the best you can do girl?"

"No," I answered rudely, almost before he'd finished his question, "But it's probably better than anything _you_ could do. You probably don't have any more intelligence than a gold fish," I told him letting scorn and contempt creep into my voice. I thought it was a rather fitting description for him since a gold fish had the memory of about five seconds if I remembered right.

Shou's face blanked a moment before contracting with anger. I smirked back at him as I reached for my inner power, _Stop._

I was very, very glad I'd stopped Time when I had since Shou was caught in midair in a lunge towards me. I blinked and rubbed the side of my face he'd hit in memory, then smirked as I stood up, _"Oi,"_ I inward, _"Kabegami, you said your power gave me chakra control right?"_

An irritated mental sigh greeted my question, _**"Yes, idiot, pay better attention," **_The cat snapped.

I rolled my eyes and clenched a fist as I tried to recall the part in Naruto when Kakashi had explained chakra control to them. All I had to do was focus on where I wanted the stuff… Right? I stared at my fist, imagining chakra gathering on the points of each of my knuckles, the place that would make contact when I hit something.

A flicker of bluish light around the points told me I was doing it right and I grinned. I kept my focus on my chakra as I set my feet and drew my arm back until my fist was even with my head. I focused on putting my fist _though_ Shou's face, then thought better of it. If I focused like that while I was channeling chakra like I was I probably _could_ put my fist through his head.

I didn't like the guy, but not enough to the point that I'd kill him.

Instead I tightened my fist and pictured him flying backwards into the nearest tree. I grinned and lunged forward, putting my entire weight behind the punch. It was a foolish move to pull in a fight since it left me wide open for a counter attack, but since my victim wasn't moving and couldn't fight back I felt no qualms about not using proper fighting technique.

My fist slammed into the unmoving Shou and sent him flying, still in the same position he had been in when I froze Time, to crash into a tree. He bounced of the tree a bit before falling to the ground with an undignified, yet satisfying thump. I smirked at the frozen form before I turned back to his companions to wreck havoc.

I took their headbands baring the symbol of their village from where ever they had them and took a stick with a burnt tip out of the unmoving fire. Grinning I drew angry smile faces on them over the symbol with a tongue sticking out. I took the now stylized headbands and tied them over the ninja's eyes. I tied the knots as tight as I could, but I didn't doubt that they wouldn't have a lot of trouble undoing them.

I tapped my chin a moment in thought before smirking and, without focusing chakra to my foot, I kicked each one of them in the crotch. Then I walked behind them and pulled their underwear up as far as I could. I took the weapons I could see on them and dumped all but the set I would take into the fire. Then, using one of _my_ kunai I cut the straps on their ninja sandals. I wondered briefly if being Stone Ninja if they'd have tough feet from running around a mountainous country, but shrugged as I began dumping their packs' contents on the ground and going through it.

I kept one bag for myself, I was fairly sure it was Shou's, and tucked some food rations and two bottles of water into it. The rest of their food I dumped in the fire as well, it would all burn to ashes once I let Time move again. I found some fishing equipment and kept that as well along with some medical supplies. I used some bandages from the medical supplies to wrap my forearms, shins, feet, and around my right and left thighs where I would put a pouch of weapons.

I never understood why ninja only carried one pouch on one leg, I'd feel off balance if I had something on one leg and not the other.

I tossed their empty packs and whatever I wasn't taking with me into the fire after adding some wire that might be useful later to my pack. I shouldered my new pack and grinned menacingly at my _former_ captors. They would certainly think twice before picking up some 'helpless' sleeping girl again. If they lived that is. I couldn't picture them having an easy time now that their weapons, food, supplies, and shoes were trashed.

I paused a moment to look at Takacha, studying him. I hadn't thrown the katana he carried in the fire just because I had a soft spot for katanas and swords in general. I considered taking it with me since I was moderately competent in using a sword, but I also didn't like the idea of using someone else's sword.

I frowned and tapped my foot as I thought about it. A katana could be helpful, not only in the fact that I could use one a bit, but for the intimidation factor. I had always considered Kisame and Zabuza intimidating due to the fact that they both wielded massive swords. Plus a sword extended one's reach in close combat by nearly three feet and as short as I was I needed all the help I could get.

Still, it felt _wrong_ to take someone's sword. It felt just as wrong to take it only to destroy it. I frowned and shifted to tap my other foot. I finally sighed and shook my head. I would leave Takacha his katana out of respect for him as a leader and respect for the sword.

Turning my back on the group I crouched and focused on chakra infusing my feet and legs. I felt my tired legs strengthen as chakra flared there, but I quickly focused and toned it down until a little bit above the minimum amount I thought it would take to propel me through the trees coursed through my legs before I pushed off from the ground and onto the side of a nearby tree.

I stuck to the side of the tree and looked back down at my former captors and smirked as I released my hold on Time. There was a howl of pain from Shou, but I didn't look at him as I watched the fire flare up from the abundance of fuel and the ninjas cry out and yelp in surprise in pain as they got feeling back and discovered their predicament. Yui actually fell over when he tried to stand suddenly, tripping over his own sandals and falling onto a teammate that I didn't know. Takacha struggled with his headband more than I thought he would have and almost fell over his sandals as well while trying to stand.

I stopped Time again after barely eight seconds while I howled with laughter, almost losing my focus on my chakra and slipping on the tree a bit while I laughed. When I got myself under control I offered a last snort of amusement before turning and leaping away into the night.

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**Not really much of a cliffhanger there... I must be losing my touch, I'll try harder for the next chapter. ]**


	38. Darkness Falls

**Since it has been obvious few have bothered to read my author's notes at the beginning of chapters I'm putting them at the end.**

**Words- 3,247**

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**CrossWorlds ~ Part I ~ The Beginning ~ Chapter Thirty-Eight ~ Darkness Falls**

I was still grinning my 'Grimmjow grin,' as a few friends called it , as I leapt through the trees into the night. Thinking of Grimmjow, I would have almost preferred to visit the Bleach world than the Naruto world if given the choice. Bleach seemed much more interesting to me with its plot twists and turns than the Naruto world's plot. I did like Naruto better because the main character in Bleach, Ichigo, seemed almost Mary Sue at times, sprouting a new power just in time to save the day. Naruto seemed more real as a person to me, but the guys in Bleach were hotter than most of the Naruto characters.

_Itachi…_ I remembered, making me grin wider. Yes, Itachi was defiantly nice to look at. So was Kakashi, even with the mask. Kisame's sharky appearance was interesting and he had an awesome sword. Same thing with Zabuza, only he was better looking than Kisame.

I snorted and shook my head, what was I? A hormonal teenager? Possibly, I was a few weeks shy of my eighteenth birthday after all. I reasoned I was allowed to have a few crushes, even if they were anime ones.

I steered my mind away from thinking about attractive males and concentrated on running through the trees. It was hard work, especially on my poor legs that had been bound for who knows how long by Takacha and his men. It didn't help that I was still bruised from the fight in my world and every step hurt at least a little bit.

I knew I couldn't get very far in my condition and I didn't know if Time would stay stopped if I stopped to sleep, "_Hey,"_ I thought at Kasugami, _"If I stop Time and go to sleep will it stay stopped?"_

"_**No,"**_ The ram replied in my head, _**"Keeping Time stopped requires your will to keep it so. If you are sleeping your will sleeps as well and your hold on Time is lost,"**_ He told me, not unkindly, but, as I was starting to expect was normal for him, he didn't offer anything that would be useful.

I sighed and put my frustration into my push off of the tree I was against, the wood popped from the force. I blinked in surprise and glanced over my shoulder at the tree, it had a clear indication of my bare foot in its bark. I grimaced at the foot print, it would provide a clear sign to anyone saying 'Look! Someone went this way!'

I rolled my eyes at my own stupidity as I landed on a large rock and crouched there a moment as I panted to catch my breath. I scowled to myself, this ninja stuff was hard work! I considered myself in decent shape from karate, helping out the neighbors, and roaming the woods, but this ninja stuff made me feel like a complete wimp!

I sighed out gustily with irritation and closed my eyes as I tilted my head back. I hadn't been running for more than ten minutes, fifteen at the most, and I was nearly out of breath. I growled in my throat as I opened my eyes to glare ahead into the darkness.

The darkness was my second problem. Although I could see pretty well in the dark, I was having trouble here. I guessed I was used to having the light from town lighting up the sky enough that I could even see a little bit when there was no moon. There wasn't _any_ light here, the trees even blocked out any star light there might be.

My third problem… I didn't know if I was going the right way to get back to Fire country. More importantly, back to Kakashi, Rin, Obito, and Minato. I frowned then and my eyes lidded, I wasn't sure if there would be an Obito when I returned. At least I knew Minato would be there and he could help me. He was a master of space/time jutsu so he just might, _might_ have some idea how I got into this world and, more importantly, a way to get me home.

The fourth problem was my friends, or rather, _finding_ my friends. My enemies too I supposed, it wouldn't do to simply leave them behind in a strange world where they would die… Though that would be fitting for them, they would have left me behind.

I'd caught my breath by the time I'd counted off my problems, which only served to further irritate me and made me see just how much of a pickle I was in. A new one was forming as an annoying buzz at the back of my head. I winced at the sudden headache's onset. How many of these things had I had since coming here?

I could almost believed that Naruto's world was cursed with all the bad things that happened to it. I didn't really think this stupid war classified as one of those things, true war was bad, it happened in my world too. Still, they had the Nine Tailed Fox that was called a natural disaster several times that I remembered, but could a thinking creature really be considered a natural disaster?

I shook my head to clear it of such thoughts, I didn't need to make my headache worse, as I pushed off from the rock I'd been crouched on. I had to keep moving. I was afraid that if I stopped I'd be tempted to sleep and Kasugami told me if I fell asleep I lost my control over Time and if that happened it wouldn't be long before a group of angry Stone ninja found me…

I suppose the smart thing would have been to kill them while Time was stopped, but I wasn't a killer and I didn't want to be. I also couldn't chance fundamentally changing something in this world and risk it affecting something in my world or any other world.

_That_ thought made me pause on my next landing and then stop altogether on the landing after that. Was that even possible? I shrugged and shook my head, I supposed it was. If the Naruto world was real, why couldn't others?

I rubbed the space between my upper lip and my nose as I turned _that_ over in my head as a slow smile spread over my face. It would, undoubtedly, be fun to end up in a select few other worlds and meet some of my favorite characters… I winced suddenly as my headache gave a particularly painful surge. I rubbed my temples with the first two fingers of both hands, hoping that the presser with relieve some of the pain.

It didn't.

I sighed with regret and disappointment before closing my eyes and rubbing my closed eyelids instead. Couldn't I just deal with one problem at a time? I had enough of them piling up without adding a splitting headache to the pile to distract me. I had more important things to focus on, I couldn't afford to be distracted.

I narrowed my eyes and pushed my headache to the bottom of my list, trying to ignore it as I pushed off from the tree branch I had been perched on to the next one. I had to keep moving, I had to get as far away from the stupid Stone Ninja as I could before I could even think about stopping and only after I found a suitable hiding spot that I was certain they couldn't find. I knew if they found me again after what I did to them I wouldn't walk away unscathed, if at all…

The thought made me swallow with fear. It was one thing to imagine what would happen if I ever managed to get into the Naruto world, it was quite another to actually _be_ there and be in actual danger and have the threat of death hanging over my head.

"_**Coward,"**_ Kabegami's sneering voice echoed in my head.

"Shut up," I muttered angrily aloud. _She_ wasn't out here running for her life. I counted myself very, _very_ lucky that Kasugami let me use his power to stop Time. Otherwise my goose would have been cooked a long time ago.

"_**You're welcome youngling,"**_ Kasugami replied, though, to me, it didn't sound like he really cared one way or the other if I got to use his power or not.

I frowned then as I pushed off a tree branch, what had I done to vex him so? I waited, expecting him to barge into my head and read my thoughts then reply, but only silence answered. I rolled my eyes and focused more on running and conserving my strength.

I continued on for another good ten minutes before stopping to catch my breath again. I crouched on another tree branch as I panted, then shivered slightly. It was cooler now that night had fallen in the forest and me being sweaty wasn't helping to keep me warm. I rubbed my hands against the sides of my arms, feeling goose bumps ripple up.

Whenever I decided to stop and find someplace to hide I was going to make sure it was _warm._ I _hated_ being cold. I'd much rather prefer to be too hot as to too cold. I can always take off more clothes if it's hot outside, but I can only put on so many when it's cold before I resemble a marshmallow and can't move besides wiggling. Which I as annoying as it is embarrassing.

Cold weather wasn't all bad though, I did rather like ice skating and a snowball wars in the country we had were the high light of my winters. _Everyone_ took part in them and I mean everyone from three year olds to some grandparents. Afterwards, we would go have a potluck supper with make hot chocolate coffee and socialize.

A smile tugged at the corners of my mouth as I thought about the snow wars, but I pushed back my wandering thoughts yet again as I took a deep breath and frowned at the darkness ahead of me. I had to get my friends and get home.

I leapt for the next branch, landed, jumped for the next one. My body quickly settled back into the rhythmic movement as I tried to alternate which leg I used to push off with so I wouldn't tire myself out as quickly. I had strong legs and while I was fast over short distances, long ones were hard for me.

I landed and faltered as I pushed off from the next branch as my head split with pain, making me wince as I just barely managed to land on the next branch. I squeezed my eyes shut and pressed my hands to the side of my head in a futile attempt to block my headache out.

It was bad enough that my eyes watered and my nose started running. I gasped and started coughing as the stench of rotted meat combined with the stench of something dead and rotten eggs met my nose. I could handle each one by itself, but all three mashed together, at the same time was almost more than I could handle as my stomach rolled and threatened to empty itself.

I coughed one last time before jumping forward and jumped again as soon as I landed, desperate to get away from the stenches. If I'd had a handkerchief with some perfume sprayed in it over my nose I would have gone to investigate would was making such an awful smell.

I landed on another branch and jumped again, but neither the smell nor my headache was abating. If anything, both got worse. My vision swam from my eyes watering and my runny nose was making it difficult to breath. I almost missed my next landing as a coughing fit overtook me.

Hacking and coughing I crouched on the branch, just barely managing not to throw up. I gasped for breath, panting before forcing myself to jump for the next branch. I was halfway to the next branch I was jumping for when I was knocked aside by something slamming into my right side, startling a yelp out of me.

I gave a choked gasp as my flight was cut abruptly short as my back met with the hard, rough surface of another tree. It knocked the wind out of me and I fell less than a couple feet before something slammed into me and pinned me against the tree. The smell of rotten meat and eggs with a good dose of something dead assaulted my nose as my head screamed.

I stared wide-eyed as a black _thing_ pinned me against the tree. It was vaguely human shaped, with arms, legs, and a head but that was where the resemblance ended. It was entirely black, blacker than the forest around us to the point that it made the forest look brighter and it _smoked._ I didn't really know what to make of the wispy black smoke that constantly oozed off the entire thing, shrouding what it really looked like so that it just looked like a… A shadow _thing._ Then there were the eyes. I would have expected something like this to have crimson eyes, but instead they were narrow white slits with only a tiny, contracted pupil in their center without an iris.

Its eyes narrowed further, its head shifted slightly and it _hissed._ It was part angry snake, part angry crocodile, and part steam escaping through a small hole. Its right arm dug into my shoulder to pin me against the tree, I could even feel _claws_ digging in while it held onto the tree with its left arm. Its lower body pressed against mine with a knee braced between my legs to keep me from sliding down.

I didn't know quite what this thing was, but I knew it was evil and I knew I wanted to get away.

I steeled myself as it moved its face closer to mine and scrunched my eyes shut then thrust my head forward as hard as I could. Our heads cracked together and the shadow thing roared as it released my shoulder to clutch its face. I wasted no time in pushing my own pain from a ringing head back and dug into the tree with my heels and kneed the thing in the crotch.

Man or woman, getting hit in the crotch hurts and the shadow thing let out and ear splitting, high pitched _squeal_ as it pushed away from me. I hesitated only a moment before pushing off the tree after it, turning my body as I did so and aiming a kick at its belly.

It recovered from my earlier assault and grabbed my foot with one clawed hand and uttering another hiss it lashed out with its other hand, racking me across my collar bone from my right shoulder to my left. I tried not to, but I couldn't stop the scream of pain that escaped me that quickly turned to rage. I don't cower when I get hurt, I get _mad._ Plus I didn't even know what this thing was or why it was attacking me which pushed my anger that much further into near rage.

I lashed out with my right fist next, bending and twisting the leg the shadow thing had to bring me closer to it. It caught my fist in one hand and squeezed and several small pops and cracks accompanied by a shooting pain from my hand told me that several bone in my hand were broken. I roared and was preparing to lash out with my left fist next when it let go of my foot and snaked its hand forward to grip my left side. Then it squeezed.

I howled with pain as I felt my ribs crack then break. I kicked out blindly, counting myself a fool for attacking this thing in the first place. Now, all I wanted was to get away alive. I her a deep, wet gurgling sound and my eyes widened with shock and fear as I realized the thing was _laughing_ at me. It _liked_ hurting me.

I was panicking now. I had to get away from this thing. I kicked, I swung out with my unbroken hand and I thrust my head forward to try to head butt it again. It laughed again and released me completely and let my own momentum carry me forward so it was behind me. Both of its arms wrapped around me and pulled me back against its chest. Claws scarped from my right thigh to the left side of my ribcage before that arm moved to wrap around my upper chest and the other arm around my stomach.

It chuckled again as I felt _teeth_ brush the top of my left shoulder. What was this thing? A vampire! Well, two could play that game and I bit down on the arm around my upper chest as hard as I could. It grunted, then hurled me down a short distance into the ground.

I cried out with pain with the impact along with the jarring of my other hurts. I had landed stomach down, but I flipped myself over, thrashing around on the ground as I moaned and cried with pain. My mouth burned where I'd bitten the thing and the taste of it was worse than the smell.

I flopped over on my side and emptied my stomach of what little it held, just barely managing not to choke. I coughed, then struggled to try to get up, trying to ignore that my entire front was wet and the fact that it was wet with my blood.

The thing chuckled from nearby and when I managed to glance at it, I couldn't help the anger and panic that filled me. It was merely sitting on a rock watching me struggle and the shape of its eyes suggested it was smirking. I was angry that it was merely watching me, but panicking because if it wasn't bothering to attack me anymore it might mean that it was going to watch me die.

I choked and coughed again, knowing that the dark liquid I was spitting up now wasn't vomit, but blood. Tears of rage leaked from my eyes and that only served to fan my anger higher, I _hated_ crying. I had to get up, I had to get away, I had friends to save.

The sound of something ripping caused me to jerk my eyes to the source right below my hands. The thing snarled angrily, but I didn't get a chance to see it rushing toward me as the portal thingy that opened beneath me swallowed me up and closed behind me.

I squeezed my eyes shut, expecting more pain, but nothing new came. There wasn't any sound, but it still felt like I was flying through space, almost like falling. Before I could open my eyes and look around there was sound again and a short _woosh_ of air past my ears before I crashed into a cold, hard surface.

I groaned with pain and cracked my eyes open, a pair of approaching feet was the last thing I saw…

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**That's all folks.**

**Yes, that was the end of Part One.**

**Yes, there will be a sequel.**

**No, I don't know when it will be up. It'll be up when the firt chapter is done.**

**No, it won't be set in the Naruto world. This may upset some of you. Here's something to keep in mind though, my older sister who loaths all things anime/manga read this and _understood it_ and she has never read or watched a single episode. With her in mind I intend to write the next Part of CrossWorlds as if the reader does not read/watch Bleach. **

**Woops, was that a spoiler? Why yes, yes it was.**

**Before I move onto the credit there are some people who the _readers_ need to be thanking for finally getting this. First, my friends Sam and Sammi and my sister. They are the ones who kept nagging at my to get to work. Second, is demon twin who gave me the best review I'd had in chapters and brought my muse back. Besides my friends, that was the only review I'd had for several chapters that actually said something worth reading and used complete sentences.**

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**_Credits_**

**I used bits and peices from more places than I can count or remember. I do not reveil the ones I do remember for the sake of my plot, but I do credit them to their repective owners and claim only my OCs as my own, with a bit of credit to the people they're based off of. ;]**

**I owe several 'Thank Yous' to several people so I'll get started.**

**Firstly, I'd like to thank my sister. Dispite her dislike of all things concerning manga and anime she read my story and offered constant love and support for my writing. Don't tell our other sister, she's already jealous. XOXO**

**Secondly, I'd like to thank my friends Sam and Sammi. I'd also like to note that Sam is a turd for spoiling my moment when she catches some minor mistake on my part, but she's a lovable turd so I get over it. Sammi is a turd for all her nagging me to get to work, but I greatly appreciate it. I wouldn't have made it without you two. 3s**

**Next, I'd like to thank demon twin for bringing my muse back to me, otherwise this last chapter might have been even longer in coming.**

**The ever faithful and good reviewer Adore also deserves a thank you for giving me helpful reviews. I just wish you had an account so I could reply! Drop me a line sometime! I'm on Deviantart and numerous other places with the same username as here if you want to find me! =]**

**I would also like to thank MikaZuki(you keep changing your name!) for being there and sticking with me since chapter one. **

**Thank you to liliedove for being there for me and listening to me rant.**

**There are a lot more people who need thanking, but the longer I keep working on this the longer it takes me to get started on the next part.**

**So, ta-ta for now~!**

**~Xiaahandrus**


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